I have long eschewed eating farmed salmon, most of which is Atlantic salmon, for a variety of health reasons. Among them are that farmed salmon have seven times the levels of PCB’s as wild salmon, 30 times the number of sea lice, are given chemicals to make the fish red, are given antibiotics at levels higher than any other livestock, and contain half the amount of omega-3’s, which lower the risk of heart disease, dementia and arthritis, among other things. And farming salmon necessitates the over fishing of wild sardines, anchovies, mackerel and herring for feed. Atlantic salmon are the fish of choice for farms because they are less aggressive than Pacific salmon and grow faster. As Pacific salmon are apparently more prone to disease, production costs would also be affected.
There are certain environmental dangers associated with salmon farms as well. University of British Columbia professor Daniel Pauly calls fish farms “floating pig farms,” as the amount of fish excrement accumulates on the sea floor, which provides a breeding ground for bacteria that negatively impact other marine species. Another concern is that as farmed salmon regularly and in large numbers escape from holes in the nets they are out competing wild fish for food (they’re bigger). And these escaped fish breed with wild fish which dilutes the gene pool.
And now another risk associated with salmon farms has spread to the northern Pacific Ocean. Infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV) is a pathogen that until recently was restricted to Europe and the Atlantic farmed salmon on the east coast of Canada. It is widely considered to be “the most feared viral disease of the marine farmed salmon industry,” as it is, essentially, according to Alexandra Morton, a co-author of a study published this month in Virology Journal, “a member of the influenza family, and it mutates easily and rapidly.”
Outbreaks of ISAV have occurred at regular intervals since 1984 and the majority of outbreaks have involved Atlantic farmed salmon. The study also revealed that salmon escapees are infecting wild salmon at higher rates than previously recorded. Unfortunately, the economic consequences of this virus, for which there is no cure, can be devastating to the industry. ISAV was detected in Chile in 1999 and no attempt was make to contain it. Chilean salmon farmers allowed the virus to reproduce and mutate which caused a new form of the disease to occur in 2007 resulting in a $2 billion loss.
The B.C. Salmon Farmers Association is responding to the study by lashing out at its veracity as well as denying access to their farms by researchers. Not surprising considering that the combined wild and farmed salmon industry is worth approximately $1 billion a year in British Columbia. According to Ms. Morton, “ISAV is a notifiable disease meaning that if the finding is confirmed Canada would be obliged to report it to the International Organization for Animal Health. This notification would permit other countries to block imports without fear of incurring trade penalties.” This confirmation would obviously devastate the industry.
Aside from economic devastation, any outbreak of an ISAV strain can cause death rates of 30% on any given farm. Since ISAV can be transmitted by sea lice, and salmon farms are infested with sea lice because of the large numbers of fish crammed into small areas, ISAV is more likely to occur. This is a great cause of concern for the continued health of wild salmon populations as “sea lice from salmon farms are one of the most significant threats facing wild salmon.” Since many salmon farms are, for reasons beyond my understanding, “located along salmon migration routes,” it should be obvious that wild salmon will be more exposed to the disease than they would otherwise be in the wild.
There are no obvious fixes for the potential of ISAV to at least diminish or even destroy whole populations of wild salmon. Add that to the over fishing of smaller species of fish to provide feed for farmed Atlantic salmon and we have a recipe for a marine disaster. The only thing we can do is to be aware of the situation and stop eating farmed fish altogether. While farmed salmon is certainly a cheaper, albeit less healthy, alternative to wild salmon, consuming it only contributes to the problem.
Recipe of the Week
Since sardines are an excellent source of omega-3’s, this pasta recipe is easy to make and cheap.
12 canned sardines
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 cup good quality pitted nicoise olives
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 pound pasta of your choice
1 cup toasted and seasoned breadcrumbs (seasoned with just olive oil, salt and pepper)
While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a frying pan, add the sardines and all other ingredients and heat through until warm. Stir in the undrained pasta and top with the toasted bread crumbs.