As a response to depleted ocean fisheries many people turned to farmed fish to satisfy their seafood cravings. Fish farming has many obvious benefits, such as taking heat off of ocean fisheries and making fresh seafood more accessable to people who may not live right on the ocean, but one must be careful which farmed fish they choose to consume.
During the past twenty years worldwide salmon production has increased by a factor of fourty. Salmon has major health benefits and is a very popular seafood choice. The American Heart Association recommends eating fish to help prevent heart disease. Salmon is also one of the most popular examples of contaminants in farmed fish. The amount of contaminants, such as PCB's, found in a lot of farmed salmon is signifigantly higher than in wild salmon. Science magazine states that the health risks involved with eating farmed Atlantic salmon may very likely out-weigh the benefits. Natural salmon fisheries, though, are depleted and harvesting this crop wild poses many hazards to the ecosystems they live in. Salmon farms are also ecologically dangerous. This poses the question: Should one eat farmed salmon or wild salmon?
Another thing to take into concideration is where the salmon is coming from. Salmon are found in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Most farmed salmon is Atlantic salmon. This is the variety of salmon one needs to avoid eating; regardless where in the world it is farmed. European salmon have signifigantly higher amounts of toxins than North or South American salmon.
Many of these toxins are PCB’s, or polychlorinated biphenyls. PCB’s are mixtures of over 200 chlorinated compounds. They are oily liquids or solids used often as lubricants or coolants in heavy machinery. PCB’s are a major problem in many fish populations because they bioaccumulate. About ninety percent of PCB’s found in salmon come from the water they are housed in.
Despite all these risks, there are salmon that are safer to eat. Less common Pacific salmon does not have the same health risks or enviornmental pressure as Atlantic salmon. Coho or Silver salmon farmed in the United States and several varieties of wild caught Alaskan salmon are good low risk salmon choices. Risk assesment of many different seafood choices can be found at http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_factsheet.aspx?fid=133.
Sources:
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/303/5655/226
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