It's Time to Unite to Stop the Disinformation Movement About Farmed Salmon

SEAFOOD.COM ^ | Feb 14, 2003 | David Rideout

[jim_trent]

You're right. For example, I always prefer wild cows to farmed ones, myself. ;-)

The alternative to farming (including fish) is extinction of the species or outlawing eating them. I always wonder about people who protest without offering a valid alternative.

[expatpat]

Why are they against farmed fish? I would have thought that they would approve of the reduced stress on wild fish. I must be missing some convoluted thinking.

[CROSSHIGHWAYMAN]

I've recently eaten wild salmon caught in upstate New York.

The fish is a gray color and tastes ok.

However, farm-raised salmon has a much better flavor.

[Willie Green]

I would have thought that they would approve of the reduced stress on wild fish.

That's precisely the point.
If the wild fish aren't endangered, the eco-nuts lose political power.
It's just like the liberal poverty pimps who oppress their own dumbed-down constituency.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

bump

[Cicero]

The farmed fish is excellent. We've been eating Duck Trap Salmon (and smoked trout) for many years. Very good.

Here's Duck Trap Harbor, Maine, the neighborhood it comes from:

I think you can buy their stuff on line if you run a search for it.

[Nov3]

'Salmon is an ideal source for long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, which are necessary for brain development in babies and cardiovascular health in adults…The safest seafoods are farmed and wild salmon….[which] can be eaten more than once a week.'

I believe grain fed farmed fish don't have hardly any omega-3's. Their wild brethern that feed in the cold waters have high levels.

The farmed fish has a lot more fat and tastes better though.

[Constitutionalist Conservative]

Farmed Salmon

You know, with our current world situation, I swear I first read this as a Middle Eastern name, i.e. FAR'med SAL'mon (4 syllables). Kinda funny to discover that the article was about fish, not some convenience store clerk. :-)

[TheMole]

The fish farms are in competition with the fishermen. Never forget that fact when you are listening to any of this propaganda. If it's propaganda emanating from the Canadian west coast, don't forget that about 40% of the commercial fishermen there are native Indians. Any allegations of fish farms fouling the environment of native bands should be evaluated with these facts in mind.

You know, egg farms and vegetable farms and rice farms all produce food of varying quality. Some people are willing to pay a premium for quality, while others aren't. It's no different with fish farms.

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

I ain't no salmon connosieur. But the missus knows a bit about salmon. The wild salmon eats wild stuff. Hence, it eats all the stuff God wanted them to eat. As a result it has all the omega-3 benefits and it generally better for you. The farmed salmon is fed grain. That's why it gets so fat. It's on a high carb diet.

The same thing can be said for free range yard bird and the poor things you buy at the grocery store. The store bought is okay, but the free range bird eats grasshoppers and worms and generally has the stuff God intended. Similar with grass fed beef. Much better for you.

[expatpat]

Thanks for the enlightenment.

[js1138]

[farmfriend]

ping

[Servant of the Nine]

Part of the answer is for Western Salmon Farmers, whether in Canada or Chile on in between, to raise Atlantic Salmon. If there are escapes, they can't interbreed with the wild fish and possible do any harm. Besides Atlantic salmon has more flavor.

So9

[goodnesswins]

We eat salmon at least once a week. Once you have Copper River Salmon.....nothing is the same. Farmed salmon is OK, but wild tastes better to us. And, I believe is better for us, also, as others have noted.

[Nov3]

I if given a choice will eat the wild version of all the foods you mentioned with the exception of the beef. That grass fed stuff just does not stand up to heavy corn fed aged beef. Yum yum.

You on a low carb diet?

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

One problem with the salmon farms is that they're a concentrated point source of polution from the thousands of salmon crapping in one place. Makes sense, but that's something that can probably be managed as we get smarter about the process and pitfalls. We're yet in the early decades of factory fish farming.

Meanwhile, there's no doubt about it: wild tastes better and is more nutritious in terms of omega-3. It tends to be a richer color, too. But it needs to be cooked a little differently, since it's less fatty.

[Carry_Okie]

Meanwhile, there's no doubt about it: wild tastes better and is more nutritious in terms of omega-3.

Not for long. You want salmon with omega-3? The market is going to give it to you. It's already been found that putting flax seed oil in the feed mix increases the omega-3.

It tends to be a richer color, too.

That's already been addressed for the most part. I don't like how they did it, but if color matters, it's no problem.

But it needs to be cooked a little differently, since it's less fatty.

Same story. BTW, the aging control and the portion control are superior with farmed fish. There is also a lot of mishandling of wild caught fish causing bruised meat.

I would like to see them develop deep-ocean fish farm technology. The open ocean lacks nutrient. Farming there would make the entire region around the farm more productive. It might also be easier to contain genetically altered alleles to prevent cross breeding wild stocks. A deep ocean farm is one heck of an engineering problem, but like anything else, problems are opportunities too.