Another broke closed containment salmon farm?
Odd Grydeland, FishfarmingXpert, February 21, 2014
Canada: Someone with obvious talents in researching the tax returns of U.S. corporations suggests that the Washington State-based SweetSpring Salmon is in trouble
Salmon farming pioneer Per Heggelund has been growing salmon and selling eggs from its domesticated coho stocks to Chilean farmers for a long time. But after the crash of this country’s industry a few years ago due to fish health problems, importation to Chile of eggs from places like North America has become severely restricted, and companies like his SweetSpring have tried to maintain a positive cash flow by producing fish for the human consumption market. But contrary to environmental groups’ assertions that this is the only way to go, a recent story provided by the blog “Alaskasalmonranching” explains that this transformation and approach might not have been very successful;
The US based company, SweetSpring Salmon, was vital to the early days of salmon farming in the Pacific Northwest: it provided coho salmon eggs to fish farmers along the coast. Then, one day they decided to graduate from just selling eggs, to selling fish from its land-based freshwater aquaculture farm. All they needed to find were some investors willing to support the business, which, as it turned out, was easy.
The Moore Foundation – famous for its funding of anti-salmon farming campaigns – is happy to help promote anything that doesn’t involve growing fish in the ocean. As SweetSpring’s website boasts: The smart folks at the Moore Foundation believe what we’re doing is so important to wild salmon conservation they have granted us a little over $1.6 million*.
Another sugar daddy was also ready to jump into the SweetSpring biz: Canadian billionaire Jimmy Pattison. When paid activists threatened to cause a headache for his grocery store chain that dared give consumers a choice of ocean-raised farmed salmon, Mr. Pattison came up with a great PR campaign. That is, announce his store’s boycott of ocean farmed salmon, while “donating” money to SweetSpring to ensure exclusive supply of a land-based salmon for his stores. Mr. Pattison also gets to display the very unscientific seafood buyers guides produced by his partner activist groups (coincidentally these groups are also largely funded by the Moore Foundation).
So, how’s the business doing today? Well, they lost $1,900,000 in 2011, $1,200,000 in 2012, and were estimating a loss of $630,000 last year. So how does one stop the bleeding? According to SweetSpring, all you do is ask for more money to expand your business. The 2013 SweetSpring Investor Summary asks for another $6 million to expand production and hire more people. Apparently you can stem bleeding by cutting a wound wide open.
SweetSpring knows full well that their venture – even when supported by philanthropy and a billionaire willing to pay a premium price – is a money sink. So, in a completely unscrupulous manner, they persuaded others to grow their fish for them, so they could continue to make good on their promise to supply salmon to their billionaire bailout friend, but incur zero risk.
In 2011, SweetSpring persuaded two Hutterite families in Montana to grow salmon, and charged each family a $100,000 “franchise fee” for its allegedly superior salmon stock and “intellectual property”. The Miller Hutterite and East End Hutterite Colonies invested hundreds of thousands into capital, before even feeding the first Coho salmon – supplied by SweetSpring’s “unique” genetic stock. This business was a sure thing, SweetSpring promised them.
Today, both Hutterite families are out of the aquaculture business. They have sold the equipment (at a loss) and are each out the $100,000 franchise fee. The salmon didn’t grow as fast as promised and SweetSpring was unable to pay for the salmon it promised to buy. The “partnership” was a bust, but only for the Hutterites: SweetSpring walked away with $200,000 and apparently not a shred of guilt, because the SweetSpring Investor Summary is encouraging new franchises…but fails to include the details of past failures or the requirement to pay $100,000 up front for a franchise fee.
Oh, and you may recall that Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch gave SweetSpring a “free pass” – quickly placing the land-based Coho on “The Super Green List”. The Seafood Watch team were so smitten (perhaps funded to be smitten) with the idea of farming salmon in tanks, that they never once visited the Hutterite salmon farms to confirm their endorsement. Very credible indeed.
What about the taste? SweetSpring brags of “excellent flavor”, but buyers suggest a different description: muddy.
It’s all really fishy. Really freakin’ fishy.
*All values in US$; 1US$ ~ € 0.73
Here is your reference Link:
Blog: Truth About Alaska Salmon
Land-based salmon farms and the fish oil salesperson (part 1 of 4)
...This four-part blog series will also provide a book end to some stories that have been so well promoted by media: the same media that ignores the failures (weird huh, in a world where if it “bleeds it leads”, we never receive the news of these “investment no-brainers” stealing money from naïve investors).
Stay tuned…
http://www.alaskasalmonranching.com/land-based-salmon-farms-and-the-fish-oil-salesperson/
Agrimarine: profits and fish swim away, literally. (part 2 of 4)
http://www.alaskasalmonranching.com/agrimarine-profits-and-fish-swim-away-literally/
SweetSpring Salmon: calls for investors to keep afloat. (part 3 of 4)
http://www.alaskasalmonranching.com/sweetspring-salmon-calls-for-investors-to-keep-afloat-part-3-of-4/
‘Namgis salmon farm: attracting investors and irritating everybody else (part 4 of 4)
http://www.alaskasalmonranching.com/namgis-salmon-farm-attracting-investors-and-irritating-everybody-else-part-4-of-4/
