Question about farm raised salmon

[musiclawyer]

I know that farm raised salmon has to have color added (because otherwise the flesh is a dark gray color). And I know that farm raised salmon often live in dirtier conditions than wild and have more deformities. But tell me any other problems.

[flamingyouth]

1. Well, I don't eat it.

Here's a story from last year that talks a bit about it:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/155971_salmon09.html

[MissB]

2. That about covers it for me!

How much more do you really need?

[GCP]

3. They're much lower in Omega 3 fatty acids than wild salmon

It's because their diet is lacking a lot of the algae that wild salmon eat in the ocean.
Always buy wild if you can get it, it's much healthier for you, and the farmed ones are much more prone to disease due to over-crowding. It's factory-farming of fish.

[supernova]

4. Increased mucury consumption

because farm-raised are fed the meal of other salmon. This concentrates the amount occuring natureally. It's kinda the sea-farm equivalent of the fact that beef cattle get ground up beef cattle parts. Though I think they've stopped that practice.

It's because of that you are supposed to limit your consumption of farm-raised salmon to once a month, if that.

Now, though I just look for wild salmon.

[mark414]

5. i would just say don't eat it

but then again i pay my bills by selling people wild caught salmon (among other fish and meats) :shrug:

[evlbstrd]

6. Some of the diseases they develop

are passed to wild salmon, too.

[stellanoir]

7. marinate wild salmon in

Ginger Soy and Orange Juice for a couple hours. Cook and enjoy. It's totally scrumptuous.

[EstimatedProphet]

8. OK, some answers

1) Color in the salmon meat is a function of the feed usually-it comes from reddish zooplankton. It's purely natural.

2) Farm-raised salmon that live in dirty conditions rarely make it to market, because disease wipes them out. The "dirty conditions" people talk about are usually after the water leaves the farm, and there's a movement in the EPA to make water emissions cleaner for aquaculture.

3) The deformities are usually due to stress from high densities, and aren't a serious problem for meat consumption.

There's lately been a move to criticize aquaculture because they supposedly produce "frankenstein fish"-fish that have had some genetic crossing work done. This is nonsense, because the genetic crossings come from existing populations, not genetic modifications with genes from other species.

There is a lot of backlash against fish farming lately, but we still have demand that either has to be filled from wild populations, or ignored. The fact is, if we want to see salmon run wild again, and we want to be able to eat salmon at the same time, we are going to have to rais them.

[alarimer]

12. Problems with farmed fish

They can (and do) spread disease to wild fish because of the unnatually crowded conditions they live in. They can also contaminate the gene pool of wild fish because they are often of different genetic stock than wild fish. Each stream (on the West Coast at least) usually had a slightly different population of fish (genetically speaking). Problems with aquaculture in general have to with water quality and waste. Fish produce a lot of waste (anyone who has had a home aquarium is aware of this!). In most land-based aquculture facilities, EPA and state environmental agencies usually require permits and testing of water that is releaed. As far as pen-raised fish go, I am not sure of the requirements. but food that is uneaten by the fish falls to the bottom and rots, affected the water quality in whatever body of water is being used. Also escapement of penned fish (such as when sea lions tear open the mesh) can lead to mixing of wild and captive genes. There is some evidence that captive-bred fish are less able to survive in the wild. They may exhibit different responses to predators, etc. I have worked at hatcheries (ones that raised fish for stock enhancement rather than food) and I generally do not think aquaculture is the answer to solve problems with the world's fisheries.

I forgot to mention that farmed fish (salmor or otherwise) are frd other fish or feed made from other fish like menhaden or sardines) which is also destructive to those fish populations as well. So aquaculture is not very environmentally friendly most of the time.

[Shakespeare]

14. But the "pink" color of farm-raised salmon isn't from their diet.

It's added (and you'll now notice disclaimers posted, by law, in grocery stores to that effect). In wild salmon, the color comes from the zooplankton and from brine shrimp. Farm-raised salmon has neither of these in their diet, so they're not that nice salmon color without the dye additives.

Until they can come up with a cleaner, healthier, more sustainable way to farm-raise salmon, I'm not touching the stuff. Catfish and tilapia are the only farm-raised fish I'll eat.

[LeftyMom]

9. I've got a link for you

http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/seafoodwatch.asp

The Monterey Bay Aquaruim puts out a pocket guide of which fish to eat. There should be more info on thier site, they're the experts on this stuff.

I'm not an expert (I don't eat fish) but I do know it takes several pounds of wild fish (seven, I believe, but please don't quote me) to grow one usable pound of farmed fish. Also when farmed fish escape into the natural waterways, they can really screw up the population balance. Farmed salmon is lower in EFA's and higher in unhealthy fats, so it's not very good for you either.

If you do switch to wild salmon, buy from a reputable dealer and ask lots of questions. I read an article recently about testing on expensive wild salmon found in NYC groceries and fish makets and most of it proved to be farmed salmon when tested.

[bahrbearian]

10. Eat plenty of "Wild Alaskan Salmon"

Brought to you by Bahrbearian and Friends.

[WindRavenX]

11. They don't taste as good as wild salmon

I rarely eat fish (thanks to being a college student), but I LOVE LOVE LOVE me some wild salmon.
Farm raised is far inferior in taste to wild salmon.

[amazona]

13. it doesn't have the omega 3 oils because it is raised in warm H20

People are scammed into believing it contains these heart healthy oils which are only found in cold water wild-caught salmon and trout.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[Eric J in MN]

15. Their waste is a pollution hazard.

Farm-raised salmon is often falsely labelled as wild salmon.

Go vegetarian!

http://www.moveleft.com/moveleft_essay_2005_04_11_consumer_ripoff_over_wild_salmon.asp