A new documentary produced by Canadian filmmaker Damien Gillis intends to reveal the negative environmental and socio-economic effects of salmon farming in Norway.
“Farmed Salmon Exposed: The Global Reach of the Norwegian Salmon Farming Industry” premieres next week during the Pure Salmon Campaign’s Global Week of Action.
“Norway — land of breathtaking natural beauty, a country with pronounced policies of environmental stewardship. At least that’s how it appears on the surface,” said Gillis. “Norway is also headquarters of the multi-billion-dollar global salmon farming industry, including the world’s two largest producers of farmed salmon: Cermaq, whose largest shareholder is the Norwegian government, and Marine Harvest. These firms are leaving a trail of environmental, socio-economic and cultural problems around the world.
“All of these issues have led to an undeniable tipping point and the pressure is now on the industry to either continue repeating the same mistakes of the past or chart a new course to a more sustainable future,” added Gillis.
The film features testimonials by Brian Fraser, fishing guide from Scotland; John Mulcahy from Save The Swilly in Ireland; Orri Vigfusson from the North Atlantic Salmon Fund in Iceland; Alexandra Morton and Dr. Daniel Pauly from British Columbia, Canada; Dr. Matthias Gorny from Oceana in Chile; and Sven Helge Pedersen, King Harald and Vegard Heggem from Norway.
Film premieres will take place in Edinburgh (9 November), Dundonnell (10 November) and Oban (11 November) in Scotland; Dublin, Ireland (12 November); Santiago, Chile (11 November); Washington, D.C. (12 November); Vancouver, Canada (12 November); and Oslo (13 November) and Bergen (16 November) in Norway. Further screenings around the world are planned later in the month.
A 3-minute excerpt is available online now.
Pure Salmon Campaign — which has partners in Scotland, Ireland, Norway, United States, Canada, Australia and Chile — is working to raise salmon-farming standards.
