Myths about aquaculture dispelled
Odd Grydeland, FishfarmingXpert, November 06, 2013
Canada: The federal government responsible for fisheries and aquaculture in the United States goes on the offensive against industry detractors.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) just concluded its celebration of a National Seafood Month, and during the final week of celebration NOAA closed out with a focus on aquaculture- specifically by addressing some commonly expressed myths about the industry, which according to NOAA is important for the long-term supply of safe sustainable seafood.
Over the next few days FishfarmingXpert will quote NOAA on some of these myths, the first being:
“The U.S. doesn’t need aquaculture”:
http://www.fishfarmingxpert.com/index.php?pageId=255&article_id=102088
Myth #2: Aquaculture uses more wild fish than what it produces
Canada: In the final week of “Seafood Month”, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) decided to tackle some of the most commonly expressed myths surrounding aquaculture
Odd Grydeland, FishfarmingXpert, November 07, 2013
In the second of a series of Myths about Marine Aquaculture, FishfarmingXpert is reporting some of the material provided by NOAA- especially as it pertains to salmon aquaculture.
The issue of aquaculture feed and feed ingredients is often used by industry critics who commonly claim that people should eat wild salmon instead of the farmed variety, and that it takes more than one kilo of wild fish to produce a kilo of farmed salmon. They never acknowledge that it takes a lot more fish to produce a kilo of wild salmon than it takes to grow a kilo on the farm. Some of the information provided by NOAA is quoted here:
This series of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) addresses commonly asked questions related to feeds used in marine aquaculture. We discuss what farmed fish eat and examine issues such as fishmeal and fish oil use in aquaculture and research efforts underway to bring greater sustainability to feed production.
http://www.fishfarmingxpert.com/index.php?pageId=255&article_id=102110
Myth #3: Farmed fish isn’t safe to eat
Canada: In the final week of “Seafood Month”, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) decided to tackle some of the most commonly expressed myths surrounding aquaculture
Odd Grydeland, FishfarmingXpert, November 08, 2013
In the third of a series of Myths about Marine Aquaculture, FishfarmingXpert is reporting some of the material provided by NOAA- especially as it pertains to salmon aquaculture. In this article we quote some of the information about the food safety aspects of farmed seafood found in US restaurants, grocery stores and other outlets. The myth that farmed seafood- and salmon in particular- was not safe to eat was largely a result of a generally considered flawed study by the American researcher Ron Hites, who in his report contended that farmed salmon contained higher levels of PCBs than did wild salmon, and which generated a tremendous amount of media coverage, courtesy of a media blitz costing hundreds of thousands of dollars paid for by the sponsors of the research, the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Following the release of this study a flurry of statements from various government food safety agencies were issued, all stating that any (low) level of risk to human health associated with the consumption of farmed salmon were by far outweighed by the long list of benefits to human health associated with the regular consumption of salmon- whether it is farmed or wild. Subsequent to the release of this study, it was also revealed that in the US, per capita PCB intake per year from beef is 2401 ppb, compared to 30 ppb for farmed salmon. Milk contributes 716 ppb per capita, much more than the amounts contributed by poultry and pork at 306 and 199 ppb, respectively.
NOAA provides some answers to a few Frequently Asked Questions about the safety of farmed seafood:
http://www.fishfarmingxpert.com/index.php?pageId=255&article_id=102135
Another myth tackled: “Farmed fish are full of harmful antibiotics”
Odd Grydeland, FishfarmingXpert, November 11, 2013
Canada: In the fourth of a series of Myths about Marine Aquaculture, FishfarmingXpert is reporting some of the material provided by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)- especially as it pertains to salmon aquaculture
The idea that farmed salmon contain harmful antibiotics or other nasty compounds has been promoted by such extreme environmentalists as Alexandra Morton- an American crusader now residing in British Columbia and who erroneously stated that a dead whale was infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria from farmed salmon- as well as the Canadian icon David Suzuki, who once proclaimed farmed salmon to be “poison”, and something he would never feed to his kids. But government food safety agencies have repeatedly said that most fish- including both farmed and wild salmon- should be consumed regularly by everybody- including pregnant women. Few if any of the environmentalists occupied with the criticism of the farmed salmon industry go out of their way to acknowledge the fact that the use of antibiotics in salmon aquaculture has dropped significantly as new vaccines and better husbandry has reduced the need for medicines in many regions.
In places like British Columbia, the fish farmer must document that a government-imposed withdrawal time must have passed before any farmed salmon will be allowed to be processed and sold following the unlikely use of antibiotics. Any such use of medicines must be authorized by a licensed veterinarian.
Says NOAA:
http://www.fishfarmingxpert.com/index.php?pageId=255&article_id=102171
Next Myth: “Aquaculture causes diseases in wild fish” and “Farmed salmon are full of sea lice”
Odd Grydeland, FishfarmingXpert, November 13, 2013
Canada: In the second-to last segment about “Myths About Marine Aquaculture”, FishfarmingXpert reports on material provided by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
The above-mentioned statements have been repeated ad nauseam by critics of the aquaculture industry. In British Columbia alone, extreme segments of the environmental movement years ago predicted that pink salmon runs would go instinct if salmon farming in ocean-based net pens continued in the Broughton Archipelago region. No such thing has happened- in fact the west coast of North America was full of pink salmon this year. This fish has been referred to as “the lousy pink” by commercial fishers long before there were salmon farms in B.C. due to its usual parasite load as it returns from the open ocean.
NOAA answers a couple of pertinent questions in the matter this way:
http://www.fishfarmingxpert.com/index.php?pageId=255&article_id=102222
Final Myth: “Farmed fish and shellfish doesn’t taste as good” (as “wild” seafood)
Canada: In the last segment of a report about many commonly believed myths about cultured seafood provided by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), FishfarmingXpert adds some perspective
Odd Grydeland, FishfarmingXpert, November 14, 2013
Many a populist food writer and even a longer list of environmentalists have regularly proclaimed that they much prefer the taste of “wild” fish like salmon over that of the farmed variety- despite the fact that much of the salmon caught by fishing boats in Canada and the United States (especially in Alaska) also come from hatcheries and floating farms after being given the same food as conventionally farmed salmon. Canada’s most famous environmentalist- David Suzuki- even described farmed salmon as “poison”, and in the process lost any credibility he may previously have enjoyed by professional scientists and government agencies responsible for food safety.
As far as I know- nobody is forced to consume farmed salmon, which means that most likely- the overwhelming majority of the approximately 8,000,000,000 portions being consumed this year are eaten by persons that like the taste of farmed salmon. In the U.S. alone, almost 1.5 billion helpings of farmed salmon will be served this year. FishfarmingXpert has always maintained that most people- including chefs- will not be able to tell the difference between wild and farmed salmon of the same species during a taste test. And often even experts will register a preference to farmed salmon. This was recently demonstrated in a survey conducted by the Washington Post, where the paper reports that “Farmed salmon beat wild salmon, hands down. The judgments were definitive, and surprising”. The results were (with a score ranging from 1 to 10):
http://www.fishfarmingxpert.com/index.php?pageId=255&article_id=102251
Reference Links: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: NOAA Fisheries
Welcome to the Office of Aquaculture
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/aquaculture/index.htm
Marine Aquaculture: A Promising Future
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/stories/2013/11/11_07_13integrated_aquaculture_video.html
10 Myths about Marine Aquaculture
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/aquaculture/homepage_stories/10myths.html
Feeds of the Future
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/aquaculture/homepage_stories/feeds_future.html#.UoUHm-LlyUk
Frequently Asked Questions
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/aquaculture/faqs/faq_home.html
