Wild Seafood Rocks More than half of the world’s seafood comes from fish farms, even in the U.S, and this is expected to increase. People need to know what reality actually looks like. In 2011 global farmed fish production topped beef production, and the gap widened in 2012 when almost 70 million tons of farm raised fish were produced, compared to 63 million tons of beef. One of the first cons of farmed fish starts with the levels of critical omega-3s that are reduced by almost 50 percent in farmed fish, due to increasing amounts of grain and processed dead fish found in the feed. Farmed salmon for instance, is much fattier than wild salmon, but it contains far less of the healthy omega-3’s and less protein. Many of the farmed species are
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The practice of raising farmed fish in extremely confined enviroments, and killing them in painful ways like evisceration, starvation, or asphyxiation, must be regarded as inhumane. The close quarters where farmed fish are raised means disease can spread fast, while contaminants and deadly pathogens can spread beyond the nets and get into the free fish swimming past. Sea lice, a type of crustacean that is easily incubated by captive fish on farms, have become a major problem and have been the reason for declining numbers of wild pink salmon, as well as the animals that depend on them for food, such as bears, and eagles. Concentrated antibiotics, pesticides and other harmful chemicals are often used to fight disease mostly found on farmed fish. The effect this has on the environment is only beginning to be uinderstood, but dosnt look good. Take one study, which found a drug used to kill sea lice also kills other marine life, can travel up to a half a mile and persist in the water for …show more content…
Alaska does an incredible job at protecting their brand integrity when it comes to seafood, in addition to ensuring quality and sustainability. If you don’t see the “Alaska’’ logo from the Marine Stewardship Council, the seafood you are buying is likely farmed. One of the most farmed species of salmon is Atlantic King Salmon. If your buying King salmon as wild caught, odds are you are being fooled. If you are not sure, ask for Sockeye salmon from the market as this species cannot be farmed. You will notice the bright orange flesh as opposed to the pale pink flesh of the farm raised. Another con is the multiple problems that arise when farmed fish escape into the wild. This happens by the millions each year. That “wild’’ north American salmon you are purchasing can very likely be a farmed escapee, making it almost impossible to know what your eating. These escaped fish also breed with real wild fish, and research shows that these hybrid born fish die earlier than real wild fish. This also causes contamination to the entire gene pool and can be harmful to the entire wild population. Many species of fish are doing well. Their catch is regulated preserving fish for future generations, and the environment is not destroyed in the process of catching these fish. Pacific Coast Salmon Farms are located right on the ocean’s shores and studies are finding that ocean farming is affecting wild fish.
The practice of raising farmed fish in extremely confined enviroments, and killing them in painful ways like evisceration, starvation, or asphyxiation, must be regarded as inhumane. The close quarters where farmed fish are raised means disease can spread fast, while contaminants and deadly pathogens can spread beyond the nets and get into the free fish swimming past. Sea lice, a type of crustacean that is easily incubated by captive fish on farms, have become a major problem and have been the reason for declining numbers of wild pink salmon, as well as the animals that depend on them for food, such as bears, and eagles. Concentrated antibiotics, pesticides and other harmful chemicals are often used to fight disease mostly found on farmed fish. The effect this has on the environment is only beginning to be uinderstood, but dosnt look good. Take one study, which found a drug used to kill sea lice also kills other marine life, can travel up to a half a mile and persist in the water for …show more content…
Alaska does an incredible job at protecting their brand integrity when it comes to seafood, in addition to ensuring quality and sustainability. If you don’t see the “Alaska’’ logo from the Marine Stewardship Council, the seafood you are buying is likely farmed. One of the most farmed species of salmon is Atlantic King Salmon. If your buying King salmon as wild caught, odds are you are being fooled. If you are not sure, ask for Sockeye salmon from the market as this species cannot be farmed. You will notice the bright orange flesh as opposed to the pale pink flesh of the farm raised. Another con is the multiple problems that arise when farmed fish escape into the wild. This happens by the millions each year. That “wild’’ north American salmon you are purchasing can very likely be a farmed escapee, making it almost impossible to know what your eating. These escaped fish also breed with real wild fish, and research shows that these hybrid born fish die earlier than real wild fish. This also causes contamination to the entire gene pool and can be harmful to the entire wild population. Many species of fish are doing well. Their catch is regulated preserving fish for future generations, and the environment is not destroyed in the process of catching these fish. Pacific Coast Salmon Farms are located right on the ocean’s shores and studies are finding that ocean farming is affecting wild fish.