Last week I received an email from CounterPoint Strategies, a PR firm that helps “clients confront volatile media circumstances.” They pointed me to a release by Salmon of the Americas Inc., an industry trade group, that raised several questions about a recent article by New York Times Reporter Alexei Barrionuevo.
CounterPoint contacted me because it saw my previous posts about incidents of plagiarism in Barrionuevo’s work. I read the information from Salmon of the Americas, which did seem to raise important questions about Barrionuevo’s article. As an example, take these two points from the release:
Mr. Barrionuevo described Adolfo Flores as the Port Director of Castro, Chiloe Island. In actuality, Mr. Flores is simply a security guard who works for a third party contractor. I’ve enclosed an English translation of a letter from Patricio Cuello, the general manager of the Port of Puerto Montt, which administers Castro, confirming this…
Later, the article quotes a local fisherman, Victor Gutierrez, who says that recent catches have been far smaller than normal. But in Chile, all fishermen must be registered with local authorities in order to work as an artisan fisherman or commercial fisherman. According to government sources in Chile, there is no fisherman by the name of Victor Gutierrez registered in the Cochamo area. We would like some explanation for how Mr. Barrionuevo verified this source. In addition, it would have been responsible for Mr. Barrionuevo to have checked with fisheries biologists for an alternative explanation to the smaller catches—such as change in runoff, temperature and ocean salinity in the area.
I asked CounterPoint if they had received a response from the paper and was told that the information was under review at the Times. I decided to give the paper time to look into the accusations before writing about them. The Times today published an Editors’ Note:
An article on March 27 reported on a virus, infectious salmon anemia, or I.S.A., killing millions of salmon cultivated for export by Chile’s salmon farming industry. It quoted an official at the port of Castro, Chile, describing bags of fish food stored at the facility by Marine Harvest, a Norwegian company, as containing antibiotics, pigments and hormones. The official, Adolfo Flores, identified himself as the port director. He in fact worked as a security guard, The Times learned subsequently. Had The Times been aware of his actual position at the time, it would not have cited him as an authority on the contents of the bags, which were labeled medicated food. The article also should have noted that Marine Harvest and SalmonChile, an industry association, deny that they use hormones or that the pigments they use pose any risk to consumers.
So, the “port director” was in fact just a security guard. The Note also acknowledges, though not explicitly, that the article didn’t do a good enough job of including the industry perspective on hormones and pigments. (A CounterPoint rep told me their position is that the Times should either provide evidence of the use of hormones and the risk of pigments, or correct its reporting. CounterPoint is unhappy with the “deny” language.”)
But what about Salmon of the Americas’ allegation about a fisherman quoted in the story? And how did a security guard manage to pass himself off as the port director? The Editors’ Note doesn’t provide the necessary answers and context.
The paper, did, however, offer a detailed response to CounterPoint. In an email to the firm, foreign news enterprise editor Kirk Kraeutler replied to the issues raised in the release. Here’s what he wrote about the questionable fisherman:
Though unregistered with the state, Victor Gutierrez is a fisherman with many years of experience selling to local markets, by his account, which was corroborated by family members. Several other local fishermen interviewed around Seno de Reloncavi and Puerto Montt and as far south as Chiloe, echoed his concerns, which were also supported by at least three biologists from Chilean universities in the Puerto Montt area who were interviewed for the article.
Kraeutler’s full reply is pasted below. It’s an important read for anyone wondering how the Times responds to significant inquiries about its reporting. It also fills some of the holes left by the Editors’ Note. In regards to the security guard, Kraeutler writes that the man “apparently misrepresented himself to our reporter.” The guard no longer works at the port, but CounterPoint says he’s still employed by the security contractor. They are currently trying to track him down.
As for Barrionuevo, well, at the very least some training and/or discipline seems appropriate.
As a final note, I wasn’t the only person contacted by CounterPoint; a post appeared on the NewsBusters site on May 8, the day after I received the information.
The Full Times Response:
Dear Mr. McErlain and Ms. McKnight:
This is in response to your queries about Alexei Barrionuevo’s March 27 article on Chile’s salmon farming industry. We have vetted your complaints carefully and will correct the identification of Adolfo Flores. He had apparently misrepresented himself to our reporter, and we have since confirmed with a former colleague of his at the port that he no longer works there and had worked in security.
Here is a detailed response to your other points:
Health Concerns and ISA: Mr. Barrionuevo’s article states clearly that the ISA virus is not considered harmful to consumers by either the Chilean industry or American officials. It also makes clear that antibiotics have been used not to treat ISA, but rather other, non-viral diseases in recent years.
2. Colorants: In addition to astaxanthin, the colorant you refer to your letters, another major colorant used in salmon farming is canthaxanthin. That is the one the O.E.C.D. report expressed concern about in Chile’s salmon industry because of “its association with retina problems in human beings,” a link noted by many other scientists and researchers around the world.
3. The Environment: Despite the steps taken by the industry, Arne Hjetltnes, the Marine Harvest spokesman in Chile, acknowledged the need for greater regulation, saying the problems had contributed to the ISA outbreak. The article also notes that Cesar Barrios, the president of ChileSalmon, dismissed the criticism of the sanitary conditions and said there was no scientific evidence to support them, though researchers interview by The Times disagreed.
4. Hormones: Sernapesca’s website lists the drugs, including hormones, authorized for use in Chilean aquaculture and how they may be administered, including some in pellet and powder form. The full list includes Azagly-nafarelina (acetato) Solución Inyectable; Factor Liberador de LH, SGnRH Analogo Pellets; Factor Liberador de LH, SGnRH Analogo, Domperidona Solución Inyectable; and Factor Liberador LH, LH-RH analogo Polvo.
5. The fisherman: Though unregistered with the state, Victor Gutierrez is a fisherman with many years of experience selling to local markets, by his account, which was corroborated by family members. Several other local fishermen interviewed around Seno de Reloncavi and Puerto Montt and as far south as Chiloe, echoed his concerns, which were also supported by at least three biologists from Chilean universities in the Puerto Montt area who were interviewed for the article.
6. Research: The industry has spent some money on research, but several researchers in Chile dismissed the dollar amount as inadequate to what is needed and slight when compared with the billions of dollars in annual revenue generated by Chile’s salmon industry.
7. Dr. Felipe Cabello: Dr. Cabello says he is not dependent on any environmental NGOs to fund his research. He talks to many sources, including NGOs, to obtain information. The funds that allowed him to travel to Chile and Norway to study the specific problems related to aquaculture and antibiotics came from a competitive John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation USA/Canada Fellowship awarded in 2004.
The estimate that Dr. Cabello has made regarding antibiotic use was described in some detail in a 13-page study in November 2007 titled “Uso de Productos Quimicos en La Salmonicultura: Revision de Practicas Actuales y Posibles Efectos Medioambientales.” (available at www.worldwildlife.org/what/globalmarkets/aquaculture/WWFBinaryitem8829.pdf).
Dr. Cabello was cited as an author, along with: Les Burridge from the St. Andrews Biological Station, New Brunswick Canada; Judith Weis from the Department of Biological Sciences, Rutgers University; and Jaime Pizarro from the Facultad de Ingenieria, Universidad de Santiago de Chile. In table 1, page 9 of the study, Chile is listed as using 0.477 kilograms per metric ton of antibiotics in cultivation of Atlantic salmon, which is 298 times more than Norway’s 0.0016 kilograms per metric ton.
The study says it was funded by Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform, Fundacion Terram, Marine Harvest, the National Environmental Trust, the Norweigan Seafood Federation, Skretting, SalmonChile, Salmon of the Americas and World Wildlife Fund.
8. Wolfram Heise and Sernapesca: Mr. Heise reflected a view of concerned environmentalists, and our reporting, which involved talking to multiple environmentalists from various groups both in and out of Chile, did not detect the wide gap in opinion you cite regarding farmed salmon practices in Chile.
Generally, Sernapesca’s views could have been more fully expressed if its executives agreed to an interview. Those queries are well documented in emails exchanges initiated in the last week of February by Pascale Bonnefoy, The Times stringer in Chile, with Rosa Maria Rejas, the head spokesperson for Sernapesca.
Ms. Rejas said the agency was going through a change of leadership and that the new chief, Felix Inostroza, who took over on March 3 after many years at the agency, would consider an interview after going through a round of interviews with department heads.
Ms. Bonnefoy then asked for an interview with the head of the Aquaculture unit. Sernapesca officials responded that the director would have to authorize any interview with any head of any unit.
On March 4, Mr. Barrionuevo sought the help of Andrea Lagos, the press attaché for the Chilean embassy in Washington, who said officials at the agency would respond to written questions within two days. A set of questions was sent on March 7, with the intent that follow-up questions might be needed. No responses came, and the email was not returned for incorrect address. A copy of the questions was also sent to Ms. Lagos.
Mr. Barrionuevo and Ms. Bonnefoy called and emailed Ms. Rejas to follow up, warning of impending deadlines. After waiting six days for a response, on March 13 Mr. Barrionuevo sent another email to Ms. Lagos in Washington, asking for help.
We received no communication from Sernapesca until March 28, one day after the publication of the article. Ms. Rejas said then that the questions had not arrived and that she had been on vacation, though neither her phone message nor email indicated that she was away.
We appreciate your patience in awaiting our own response, and hope that this answers your concerns.Sincerely,
Kirk Kraeutler
Enterprise Editor
Foreign News Desk
The New York Times
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