30,000 Farmed Salmon Make A Break For It
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07. 3.08
We have noted before that farmed Atlantic salmon growing in pens in western waters in not necessarily the best idea, but it is a huge business in Norway, Chile and British Columbia. It is slightly smaller in BC today, after strong ocean currents moved a net near Campbell River, BC. The company says "One of the anchor lines ... apparently slipped to a low spot on the ocean floor and in so doing pulled down the corner of the cage so much the fish were able to swim out, which is really unusual." But it could be disastrous for the already threatened wild Pacific salmon stocks.
"You get juvenile Atlantics, they're not indigenous to the coast and they start competing with the wild salmon and they start putting the wild salmon at risk. Everything has to be done to stop having those Atlantic salmon in the ocean," says Jennifer Lash of the Living Ocean Society in the Globe and Mail. "Any time you bring in an invasive species or a non-indigenous species ... it poses a threat to the existing biological diversity."
We noted in an earlier post:
-while Alaska bans farmed fishing, Canada's 80 farms produce a raw sewage equivalent to a city of 500,000 people.
-for every pound of farmed salmon, four pounds of wild fish are need for food pellets.
-sea lice, algae blooms and other parasites threaten all kinds of wildlife.
-compared to wild fish, there are far more toxins, antibiotics and chemicals in farmed fish. PBDE's (flame retardants) were found in quantities 10 to 65 as much as wild fish.
In Chile, Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA) is ravaging the fish farms, and according to the Patagonia Times, "in their pursuit of rapid profits, salmon companies – allowed for the most part to regulate themselves – have run roughshod on workers’ rights and on the environment. Highly concentrated fish farms create tremendous amounts of organic pollution (feces and excess feed) that create “dead zones” in the surrounding waters. Lack of regulation has also allowed salmon companies to pump their fish with antibiotics at levels unheard of in other salmon producing countries. Those and other environmental consequences take a major toll on native fish species, on which local, small-scale fishermen rely for survival."
Salmon used to be expensive; now it is a cheap, everyday food. But at what price? ::Globe and Mail
More on Fish Farming
Deep Impacts: salmon farms threaten marine life and human health
Coastal Fish Farms Endager Wild Fish?
How to: Choose your Fish Wisely
Want Good Fish ? Think Salmon.
How to Green Your Meals
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- Countries Falling Behind As World's Oceans Are Still "Vastly Under-Protected": Study
- US Should Push for Bluefin Tuna Fishing Moratorium, Conservation Groups Say
- Five Exotic Eco Adeventures Off the Beaten Path
- The Life of a Swedish 'Climate Smart' Chicken: Nasty, Brutish, Short?
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From the Forums: Grocery Store Stupid Human Tricks
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Now why is it that we farm Atlantic Salmon in the Pacific, and farm Pacific salmon in the Atlantic?
It is so the farmers cannot sneak a few wild fish into their nets.
That is to make the job easier for inspectors, who can test fish rather than just checking the operation and the amount of fish feed used.
The policy will inevitably result in changes to wild stocks, and to a "mono culture" in world salmon.
Sheer stupidity like this is unconscionable, and it is your government doing it in your name.
which breed of Pacific salmon are being farmed in atlantic waters? In BC there is very little pacific salmon farmed ( last i heard it was about 90% atlantic,10% pacific coho). The atlantic salmon wasnt chosen because it was different- the atlantic is a more aggressive eater- the quicker a salmon eats- the sooner it can get to market size, the better your returns are. This isnt any different than other types of farming- be it fish,pig,cow,chicken or fruits/veggies. The fish farmers couldve saved themselves a big headache and charged more if they could farm bc sockeye...but sockeye have totally different eating habits and apparently dont take well to being held captive. It has nothing to do with preventing farmers from sneaking wild fish into their pens.
As for a 'mono culture' of salmon- i highly doubt it. (more likely we fish it to extinction first!), On a few occassions in the past the government tried to stock BC rivers with atlantic salmon- again because they grow so big so quick- they are prized by sport fishermen. (this was decades before the first fish farms). Needless to say- the atlantic didnt take/reproduce.
There is alot of missinformation out there on this topic.
To add to the dilemma, according to a fish geneticist professor I had there is a tendency for farmed fish to develop thinner and thinner shelled eggs, and if these Atlantic salmon do actually interbreed with the wild Pacific stock, the effects on egg mortality could be even more serious than simple competition!
"One pound of farmed salmon requires four pounds of wild caught bait fish for their food pellets." As stated in the article that is a totally irrelevant and inane comment. How many pounds of wild bait fish do you think a wild salmon has to eat for every pound of flesh, considering it has to also expend energy hunting and catching those fish?
I'm not disputing the problems with fish farming. What I am disputing are the people who say we should eat only wild caught salmon instead of farmed. I'm sorry, but either eat the salmon and don't worry about the environmental effects or don't eat any salmon period. There are very few if any truly sustainable fisheries in the world today, period. And, definitely not for salmon.
The only reason, and it is a valid choice, to eat wild caught salmon instead of farmed is for personal safety due to the toxic chemicals in farmed salmon. Just don't pretend you are doing it because you care about the environment. Eating either farmed or wild salmon means you are actively destroying the environment.
Personally, I do eat wild caught salmon but then again I also eat meat which should tell you something about me... ;)
I'm not asking people to be saints. I'm asking people to stop pretending that they are. So many of our so called environmental defense groups (EDF in this case) pretend to people there are easy solutions such as you can still eat all the salmon you want just don't eat farmed salmon. Be honest with people. There truly are no easy solutions to these type of issues that do not involve significant personal sacrifice.
what is the worry about the fish escaping- they wont mate w/the wild fish- it would be like breeding a monkey & a dog- they cant reproduce w/each other. Also the chances of the Atlantic Salmon surviving out in the wild is pretty slim- they dont know how to catch fish- they have been fed by humans & are now out to catch their own. Its like putting Paris Hilton in the wilderness & forcing her to find food. Its not going to happen- she'd sadly starve.
It is indeed sad that fish and other life is destroyed during the search for higher profits.
I'm not a saint, but I am trying to be more responsible with what I buy and eat and yes, I eat salmon. Only wild caught salmon when in season, and only occasionally because I care about my health and also for the environment. I also eat chicken, but again only organic fed free range chicken from a farmer I know who actually cares about his animals. They are smaller and their meat is darker, even the white meat and much more flavorful. I eat veggies from local organic farmers and only what's in season. Same goes for milk and eggs, yogurt and cheese. However during the winter I eat imported veggies and fruit but only organic and only as much as I really can eat. I hate to waste food and rather skip a meal than eat just because it is in the fridge anyway. I think that if people would buy more responsible farmers would be more responsible, therefore the need to produce fast and in enormous quantities would not be necessary. We are a generation that is wasting so much food and all resources that we should each evaluate our needs and just cut back. Cutting back would get us in our skinny jeans again and would also benefit the environment. Food is a gift and we should treat all food with dignity and not waste it.
Bottom line, FRIENDS DONT LET FRIENDS EAT FARMED SALMON!