Sustainable Salmon
What Does It Mean?
Salmon are among the oldest natives of the Pacific Northwest, and over millions of years they learned to inhabit and use nearly all the region's freshwater, estuarine and marine habitats. The salmon have penetrated the Northwest to an extent unmatched by any other animal. They are like silver threads woven deep into the fabric of the Northwest Ecosystem. The decline of salmon to the brink of extinction is a clear sign of serious problems. The beautiful tapestry that the Northwesterners call home is unraveling; its silver threads are frayed and broken.
Excerpt from: Salmon Without Rivers: a History of the Pacific Salmon Crisis. By Jim Lichatowich, 1999. Island Press
Salmon Biology
Salmon are anadromous, which means they hatch and live the first part of their lives in freshwater, then migrate to the ocean where they spend their adult lives.When they reach sexual maturity, they return to the freshwater streams of their birth to lay their eggs. While Atlantic salmon can repeat this cycle several times, Pacific salmon die after laying their eggs.
Since salmon stop eating once they leave saltwater, it is best to catch them when they first enter freshwater. At this point, their flesh has the highest fat and protein content. The length of time they spend in the ocean and the distance they must travel in freshwater determines the fat content. The longer and colder the river, the higher the fat content, richer the flavor and firmer the texture. Thus, salmon are generally named for the place they come from like the Copper River in Alaska (the longest, coldest river in Alaska), the Taku River in Alaska or the Columbia River on the Oregon/ Washington border.
Why should you care?
The fatter and happier the salmon, the better the flavor. Always choose wild salmon over farmed salmon. Wild salmon taste better and are healthier for you and for the environment. As the slogan goes, “Wild salmon don’t do drugs.”
The problem is that a majority of salmon available is farmed. So why should you care? Ocean Conservatory has identified some of the issues surround aquaculture:
- A majority of aquaculture (fish farming) systems actually promote ecological destruction and further protein loss. Because salmon are carnivorous, requiring fish meal in their diet, each pound of farmed salmon requires between two and five pounds of wild fish. This means a net loss of marine resources.
- Moreover, scientists have found evidence of dioxins and PCB contamination in the fishmeal fed to farmed salmon, raising further food safety concerns.
- Most farmed salmon are kept in crowded net pens where they are prone to disease. To control various pathogens and parasites, the fish farms commonly use drugs and other chemicals.
- In many instances, farmed salmon escape their net cages and can endanger the health of wild fish populations. The antibiotics and other agents used can also have a negative impact on shellfish and the marine life that support other fisheries.
Solutions
The problem with the problem is that we need aquaculture. Aquaculture will provide one solution to mitigate the threats to the world’s fisheries by taking at least some of the pressure off wild fish stocks while supporting livelihoods and food production.
The hope is the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the people like the National Cold Water Marine Aquaculture Center (NCWMAC) will adopt the World Wide Fund For Nature’s (WWF) code of conduct for responsible aquaculture, as well as the development of Best Management Practices and an associated certification scheme.
Aquaculture farmers need to “seek sustainability“. They need to adapt equipment and methods that minimize environmental impact. And they need to do this in a way that is economically sustainable.
The ultimate goal is that unsustainable seafood simply won’t be available to consumers.
Seafood Guides
Environmental Defense Seafood Selector
National Audubon Society Seafood Guide
Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch
Marine Conservation Society - FISHONLINE website
Australian Marine Conservation Society
Blue Ocean Guide to Ocean-Friendly Seafood
What MSC fish products are available in your country?
For more information on sustainable aquaculture, visit Sustainable Aquaculture from The Sustainable Kitchen Cookbook Weblog.
For information you need to make responsible and sustainable Salmon choices visit Wild Pacific Salmon - What You Need to Know to Make a Sustainable Choice.
Fish Monger
|
WWF
|
Wild King Salmon
|
Comments
More in Food & Drink
Latest Articles