Why is salmon farming so scary?
Salmon Farm Science, August 7, 2012
We’ve been thinking about this question during the past weekend (when we weren’t basking in the sun and consuming vast quantities of Lucky Lager, hot dogs and marshmallows).
Why is salmon farming so scary?
Some people react to it as if salmon farming is going to creep into their houses at night and abduct their children, then leave a giant underwater mountain of feces in the ocean blocking the Georgia Strait while evil Norwegians on the shoreline laugh maniacally and count their money.
It seems ridiculous when we put it that way, but we have honestly had people tell us they believe there is a conspiracy between government and salmon farmers to wipe out all the wild fish so there will be no salmon but farmed, so they can make more money.
Of course, they ignore the facts that although both are valuable, wild fish are worth more to the government than farmed fish. Fishing creates more jobs, more money for the economy and more revenue for the government in terms of licences. But still they believe there’s a conspiracy to get rid of the wild fish.
Salmon farm
Some people look at this and see a salmon farm. Others look at it and see the embodiment of everything they hate, fear and loathe and call it a “stain upon the sea.”
These sort of conspiracy theories and the visceral reactions some people have to salmon farming seems absurd to us. How can people react with such horror to something as benign as growing fish? How can people believe such ridiculous ideas of government conspiracies?
Here’s where we in the salmon farming business need to do something different. We have to change how we react to this horror. We need to show people that we are trustworthy.
The first thing we need to do is realize and understand that the fear and anger people feel is very real. We cannot dismiss these feelings, even though there’s probably not much we can do to change them.
Thanks to the horror stories of a few people who have dedicated their lives to stopping salmon farming, many people now have these feelings of fear and anger, and this mistrust of salmon farmers. We salmon farmers have our track record, our data and science. Guess which group wins in the media, which is built on conflict and drama and people pointing fingers at each other.
Thanks to millions of years of evolution, in our brains, feelings trump data every single time.
To read the full blog and access embedded links go to: http://salmonfarmscience.com/2012/08/07/why-is-salmon-farming-so-scary/
