In my earlier today, I highlighted an article on Bloomberg.com () regarding the declining world farmed supply due to a devastating outbreak of disease in Chilean salmon farms.

As mentioned there are some serious disconnects in this issue. Let me highlight this further by pointing to the Globe and Mail’s coverage of this issue yesterday:

First off, the Globe labeled the article as: “Fishing Industry“. Salmon farming is about as much a “fishing industry” as cattle farming is “cow hunting”.

Secondly, I am flummoxed by the various articles on this issue.

Chilean salmon farms — also largely owned by Norwegian companies — have a major breakout of infectious salmon anemia. This significantly drops world supply of farmed salmon and thus higher prices. According to the Bloomberg article this means higher revenues for salmon farming companies and higher returns for investors.

Market analysts are increasing ratings of companies like Marine Harvest (Norwegian company with huge operations in British Columbia) and Cermaq (Norwegian-based company specializing in fish feed and salmon farming). Profits are up.

This = good.

Bloomberg article:

Marine Harvest reported fourth-quarter net income of 520 million kroner on Feb. 10, compared with a year-earlier loss, and predicted a “good” first quarter. Cermaq last week posted a 141.1 million-krone fourth-quarter profit, beating analysts’ expectations.

Cermaq climbed 10 percent this year in Oslo trading after doubling last year. It fell 2.4 percent to 61.75 kroner in Oslo today. Marine Harvest advanced 22 percent after a fourfold surge in 2009 and dropped 5 percent to 5.15 kroner today after saying it intends to issue convertible bonds.

Meanwhile in Chile:

Farmers won’t release more young fish into ocean cages until congress legislates to improve industry practices, Cesar Barros, president of industry association SalmonChile, said last month.

Empresas AquaChile SA, Chile’s largest salmon producer, said in November that it was preparing for its “worst year” ever. Output will drop to less than 50,000 metric tons this year, compared with 150,000 tons last year, Chairman Victor Hugo Puchi said Nov. 10.

Oh, so what you’re saying is the locals are getting screwed while the foreigners are seeing 22 percent growth after a four-fold growth period last year.

Chilean locals are being laid off in droves, communities hammered, local companies gutted, and the multinationals are seeing increasing profits.

The Chilean government is trying to improve legislation so that this can’t happen again and the multinationals are looking to screw British Columbia waters, communities, and governments.

The Bloomberg article:

…according to a report in 2004 from the U.S. Geological Survey. The virus can kill fish but is not harmful to people, according to a 2002 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Well, gee, thank ghad it’s not harmful to humans but only kills fish.

Oh wait, you mean those wild salmon that British Columbia has that Chile does not?

But wait… the Globe and Mail is suggesting that the “salmon virus tilts the scale in favour of British Columbia”.

Are you fricking kidding?!

Bloomberg article:

Infectious salmon anemia was first reported within Norwegian aquaculture facilities and has also been found in Canada, Scotland and the U.S.

Oh, you mean the same Norwegian companies that control over ninety percent of the British Columbia salmon farming industry?

Globe and Mail article opening:

A virus that devastated the Chilean salmon industry is driving up global prices, bringing an unintended boon to British Columbia’s embattled farmed-salmon business.

Salmon spot prices have nearly doubled in the past year, following a sharp drop in global supply because of the outbreak of infectious salmon anemia in Chile, the world’s second-biggest source.

But the benefits for British Columbia, the fourth-largest producer globally, will go only so far because of a recent moratorium on the expansion of fish farms in the province.

…a spokesman for Marine Harvest’s operations in British Columbia, said that while higher prices are good for profits, the business can only grow so much because of the provincial restrictions

Well, gee, stupid B.C.’ers!

Why can’t we see the boom here? Increased prices for farmed salmon, great local Norwegian companies providing all this work and benefits, why can’t we just loosen those provincial restrictions and lift the moratorium – and stop being so concerned about those silly wild fish and coastal ecosystems?

Yeah, gee, you know salmon farming has done wonders for wild salmon in Norway and Scotland and other places.

I don’t think I can even send another disconnection notice –because this is about as bad as it gets.

It seems that a much larger percentage of folks now recognize that slashing and burning the Amazon rainforest to raise cattle which is in turn ground into burgers for the voracious North American and European McMarkets — is not such a good idea.

So, why is it any better to put B.C. coastal ecosystems in jeopardy to feed farmed salmon to the Wal-Marts of the U.S. and supermarkets of Europe (like Asda’s in the U.K. — Wal-Mart’s European subsidiary)?

Yeah, I also hear the market for enriched plutonium is booming right now — shit, Vancouver Island you should get into that market… that’ll improve those coastal economies.

Disconnection notice sent.