Farming salmon on land is like building a pizza joint on the moon.
Submitted to Positive Aquaculture Awareness, Oct. 4, 2011
Sure, it’s possible. But it’s really expensive and difficult. And is it even necessary?
Some will always say yes with a straight face, no matter how ridiculous the premise. For example, it is technically possible to build a pizza franchise on the moon, and Dominos Pizza in Japan has gone so far as to have detailed drawings made up to show what it could look like.
The project is estimated to cost $22 billion but considering Dominos total income in 2010 was only $88 million we have to assume this is an elaborate PR stunt, or that they are thinking really long-term.
Just because something is technically possible doesn’t mean it is plausible.
As Discovery News columnist Ian O’Neill pointed out, “there are no solid plans to go back to the moon at all…there's nobody on the moon to eat said pizzas. No people plus no plans to put people on the moon equals no point in putting a pizzeria on the moon.”
A workshop in Campbell River last week about closed-containment salmon farming pointed out numerous times that farming salmon on land is difficult and expensive (even though the official press release from the workshop’s funders made no mention of these points which were raised repeatedly by presenters). Yes, it’s possible. But is it necessary?
There is a long-term, well-funded campaign going on world-wide to convince people the answer to that question is “Yes.” But science does not support that answer. In fact, scientists at the Cohen Inquiry agreed that wild salmon and salmon farms in the ocean can co-exist.
So why push for something scientists agree is not necessary? Why the reliance on emotional arguments and dodgy science to try and shame and guilt people into shunning conventional salmon farming and pushing for technology which cannot possibly meet the growing demand for seafood worldwide?
And why are its outrageous costs ignored? The massive power consumption and freshwater input – even in a recirculating system – would be very expensive and large problems a land-based salmon farming industry would have to overcome to ever be capable of matching the production of today’s conventional farms.
There is certainly room as a niche market for land-based farm-raised salmon. But large-scale land-based production is like serving pizza on the moon. There’s no demand; the costs far outweigh the returns; and there’s no point.
But it sure gets a lot of media attention. And maybe that is the real point.
