Executive director Keith Sullivan denounces ASF campaign as “irresponsible and dangerous.”
The Newfoundland Aquaculture Industry Association (NAIA) has publicly condemned a new activist campaign that it says irresponsibly associates farmed salmon with conditions including cancer and autism.
In remarks first reported by The Telegram (24 June 2025), NAIA executive director Keith Sullivan described recent messaging from the Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF) as “categorically false” and accused the group of engaging in “outrageous fearmongering” disconnected from scientific consensus.
“It’s really sad that it’s not based on science — that is the most concerning thing here,” Sullivan told The Telegram, referring specifically to claims circulating on ASF’s new website salmon.info and in its accompanying film, Rock, Plastic, Salmon. “They’re really working to undermine public confidence in aquaculture and really disregarding and throwing aside the truth here. And, when you look at things like ASF’s claims linking farmed salmon to cancer and autism, they are categorically false, they’re irresponsible and they’re dangerous.”
NAIA has launched its own campaign, SaveSouthCoastJobs.com, to counter the ASF’s messaging. It features statements from local leaders, seafood workers, and hospitality businesses highlighting the sector’s role in sustaining employment and food production in rural Newfoundland and Labrador.
The association said it supports “science and evidence-based information,” pointing to Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) oversight and Health Canada findings that farmed salmon in the national food supply poses no health risk to consumers. “Farmed salmon is fully traceable from hatchery to shelf,” the NAIA statement said.
NAIA maintains that Newfoundland and Labrador has some of the most stringent aquaculture regulations in Canada, with close monitoring of feed, water quality, and fish welfare. The association said inflammatory comparisons—such as those made by Rock, Plastic, Salmon—are not only misleading but harm the livelihoods of people who depend on the industry.
“When internationally funded extremist movements attack our integrity and identity, we will not remain silent,” the association stated.
The ASF’s campaign comes amid heightened debate over a proposed marine conservation area on the province’s south coast, which NAIA says could threaten expansion plans and existing operations. The association is urging political leaders to reject the proposal and protect what it says is a vital economic sector contributing over $280 million annually to the provincial economy.