Salmon is a luxury food all over the world. Since there are billions of people on this planet, the demand for fish is increasing. One of the main issues with this is that the amount of wild salmon cannot sustain the growing population of humans. The food industry is becoming more and more dependent on farmed salmon. Nearly three-fourths of salmon harvested is farmed, but there is only one salmon farm that has an approved purchase rating. Although other farms are monitored and tested, they are recommended “void.” While farming salmon is effective, there are many problems that need to be recognized. Some problems pertaining to farming fish include pollution – mostly fecal matter that builds up around the farming areas; escapees – fish that find their way out of the pens and into the open; contaminants – chemicals like ” polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)” and “dioxins” found in farmed fish and mercury and metals found in wild salmon; and parasites and disease – sea lice, which are actually becoming resistant to “parasiticides.” While there are problems in wild salmon as well, the choice of consumption is dependent on the person. Improvements in salmon farming are continually being made; however, “salmon farms will never have zero impact on the environment.”
Author: Diego Madrid
Article: https://seattletimes.com/html/foodwine/2021993598_farmedsalmon09xml.html
Very nice article! Like we saw in class, there are many concerns with aquaculture, but you can see here that these are being addressed. There’s still a long way to go, but this article does a good job of showing the current realities of salmon aquaculture in the developed world.
The success of aquaculture will be assessed on a case by case basis. Some operations are doing a great job, others are not. Just like wild capture fisheries.
This article summarizes well the issues of salmon farming. Even in places as close to Alaska as the Mid-west of the US, the only option available in stores for buying salmon is farmed fish. The price difference between wild caught and farmed is so big that distributors don’t even bother buying wild caught salmon…just imagine shipping to other countries. Mandating aquaculture outfits to raise their standards and investment in improving their operation protocols seems only reasonable. Now its important to educate the public to buy only ACS certified fish, that is in the unfortunate places where only farmed salmon is available.
Also, thanks for bringing up this article Diego, I will share it with friends and family in the mid-west.