Last night we watched a National Geographic special about Orca’s.  It was a fascinating special, but one thing that really caught my attention the segment on farmed salmon.   While I would have thought that farmed salmon would have been a positive for the environment, that could not be farther from the truth.

To raise 1 pound of farmed salmon they need to feed the salmon 4 pounds of fish.   That is hardly sustainable and is devastating the food sources for wild salmon and other fish.  One pod of Pacific Orca’s principally feeds on wild salmon and barring a dramatic turn around experts expect the pod will be unable to survive.   Studies show that the introduction of salmon farms reduce wild salmon stock by 50% or more.  The problem is even worse for Atlantic salmon as their escaped farmed salmon interbreed with the wild salmon dooming their offspring.

If you think farmed salmon are just bad for wild salmon and orcas, take a look at their impact on people.  Although PCB’s (Polychlorinated biphenyls )were banned in the 1970’s because they have a long half life the PCB’s are found in significant levels in the farmed salmons.   PCB’s are not found in nature and the farmed salmon absorb PCBs from contaminated sediments and from their food.  According to a study by the Environmental Working Group , the levels of PCB’s were 16 times higher in farmed salmon than wild salmon.

Because of the negative health effects of PCB’s on humans the Environmental Working Group advised eating only wild salmon.   It is also advisable to grill or broil salmon to cook off the fat where the PCB’s are stored.  Most canned salmon is wild salmon.

So, it turns out that the cheap farmed salmon is not cheap at all.  It is destroying the wild salmon population, threatening the survival of the fish used food stock used to feed the farmed salmon, threatening some orca populations, making it hard for commercial salmon fishermen to survive since there are fewer wild salmon to catch and they get less money for the ones they do catch, and the farmed salmon are less healthy for people to eat.

While farmed salmon seemed like a good idea, the evidence is in and clear that salmon farms must be banned and soon.  Use thsi simple online form to contact your store to demand they quit selling farmed salmon today.