Atlantic Sapphire Kills 800,000 Salmon

Cruelty in Fish Industry Exposed

Miami, FL and Washington, DC — April 21, 2021 — At a time when documentaries like Seaspiracy are changing the way people think about fish, consumers are also paying more attention to where their food comes from. Companies such as Miami fish factory farm Atlantic Sapphire are being exposed for unethical treatment of their fish. In fact, the company’s stock recently plunged nearly 20 percent following the release of its 2020 annual report and an update for the first quarter of 2021.

The back story:

In July 2020, Atlantic Sapphire killed 200,000 salmon after housing them in a facility still under construction, where they were stressed and weakened by the noise and vibrations of ongoing construction. Ultimately, Atlantic Sapphire decided to kill them, vacuum pumping them to be electrically shocked and then have their gills slit. Then they were left to bleed to death.

“Although referred to as an ‘emergency harvest,’ the incident was in fact a gruesome end for hundreds of thousands of conscious, sentient animals capable of experiencing pain and suffering,” said Will Lowrey, counsel, Animal Outlook.  

In an August 2020 investor update, Atlantic Sapphire admitted that the fish were weakened and stressed by surrounding construction activity. In addition to admitting that the fish suffered, Atlantic Sapphire also said that the event was completely avoidable and that had it commissioned the proper equipment, the incident would never have happened. 

Less than a year later, Atlantic Sapphire killed another 600,000 salmon by operating a faulty filtration system. As with the July 2020 event, Atlantic Sapphire admitted that this event was entirely avoidable.

According to Atlantic Sapphire, it gives fish ideal conditions to thrive. But in stark contrast to this idyllic representation, the facility bears no resemblance to the wild conditions in which salmon can thrive. In only the past nine months, the company’s incompetence in providing proper care for the animals confined at its facility has led to the suffering and death of 800,000 salmon in two separate “mass mortality events.”

In response to these horrific events at Atlantic Sapphire, Animal Outlook has demanded* that the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office investigate Atlantic Sapphire and enforce the state’s aquaculture Best Management Practices and animal cruelty laws to the fullest extent allowable. 

About Animal Outlook

Animal Outlook is a national nonprofit 501(c)(3) animal advocacy organization based in Washington, DC. Our mission: To change the world for animals. By deploying an arsenal of strategies to challenge the status quo of animal agribusiness, we’re exposing the truth, delivering justice, revolutionizing food systems and empowering others to stand up for animals by leaving them off our plates.

*Complaint letter

*Appendix

Media contact:
Mary Beth Olson, MBO Media
mb@mymbomedia.com