Farmed fish may not be as environmentally friendly as it sounds due to problems with nutrition, disease, and pollution. Some species like oysters and tilapia are farmed sustainably, but others should be avoided. Consumers should seek out wild caught fish to support sustainable fishing practices.
Since fish is considered an extremely healthy and beneficial meat, many consumers are encouraged to make it a bigger part of their diet. Increased demand for fish has led to overfishing in many wild fish populations. In response, fish farms were created, raising fish in closed, netted areas. Farmed fish could be seen as a sustainable answer to overfishing, but sadly farmed fish may not be as environmentally friendly as it sounds. A worldwide debate is raging about farmed fish, making it difficult for consumers to make choices that are beneficial to fish, including including fish in their diet.
There are a number of problems with farmed fish that make them a poor dietary choice, with the exception of some fish and seafood species. Shellfish like oysters, for example, have been successfully farmed for decades, and oyster farming actually appears to benefit the marine environment. Some species such as tilapia, sturgeon and catfish are often farmed in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way.
However, people should avoid purchasing most other farmed fish species. The first concern concerns human health. Farmed fish are fed a cheap and standardized diet. This leads to much less nutritional variation than they would receive in the wild, which creates a lower nutritional value, per pound, than wild fish. The diet fed to farmed fish is also high in fat, and the fat concentrates harmful toxins such as PCBs.
Fish health is also a major concern for farmed fish. Many farmed fish are fed South American wild fish, which are rapidly depleting as a result. Furthermore, farmed non-native species may escape the detriment of the region’s native species. Farmed fish also carry disease and parasites, because they are kept in tightly closed pens. While farmed fish are loaded with antibiotics, wild fish in the region are not and can and do get sick.
The marine environment is also heavily influenced by farmed fish. Most fish are relatively inefficient eaters, dropping most of their food to the ocean floor and only digesting a small percentage of what they eat. When fish are kept in a fixed environment, this leads to eutrophication, a concentrated increase in nutrients that ultimately leads to a dead zone. Farmed fish also create other types of pollution, which can be difficult to get rid of, even after farmed fish have been removed from the region.
Seeking out wild caught fish such as albacore, yellowfin tuna, anchovies, bluefish, Pacific cod, shrimp, halibut, sardines, hoki, mahi-mahi and mackerel is a great way to support sustainable fishing and fishing practices. Fish such as grouper, orange roughy, Chilean bass, sharks, bluefin tuna, swordfish, and bottom trawled or dredged species should always be avoided, as many of these fisheries are severely depleted. Bottom trawling and dredging are also harmful to the marine environment. Lobster, crab, sole and snapper are all considered acceptable to eat, even though the fishery is risky and consumers may wish to avoid them.
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