Rotting Alaskan Salmon: "Environmental and Economic Catastrophe"

For any environmental economics blog it is our duty to post on any news report that includes the famous phrase:

"...an environmental and economic catastrophe."

This time it is fish. When 800,000 pounds of Salmon have to be destroyed due to incompetence it is not surprising that fish stocks and the global environment are under pressure.

Alaska Charges Processer with Letting 400 Tons of Salmon Rot; 'Economic Catastrophe'

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A defunct fish processor accused of letting 400 tons of Alaska salmon rot and stiffing the fishermen who sold it has been charged with five misdemeanors for what prosecutors called "an environmental and economic catastrophe."

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Troopers also found overfilled storage tanks, processed fish that were only partially frozen, glaze water that was not changed frequently enough, unclean storage bins used to transfer fish, and freezer units that were not cold enough. In the egg house, they found buckets of salmon roe coated in fly larvae.

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In Oliver's case, prosecutors estimate 800,000 pounds of salmon were wasted and about 100 employees were unpaid or underpaid for their work.