Salmon aquaculture involves raising salmon in controlled environments, often in marine cages, and can have negative effects on wild fish populations and the environment. The process involves hatching and raising salmon in freshwater tanks before transferring them to saltwater cages. The invention of floating cages has been a significant innovation in salmon farming. Some groups only engage in hatching and releasing salmon to restore wild populations.
Salmon aquaculture is the cultivation of salmon in human-controlled environments, which can be contrasted with fisheries practices that harvest salmon from the wild. The practices used in salmon aquaculture can vary, but the most common methods involve hatching the salmon and keeping it in marine cages that prevent the fish from swimming away. Less commonly, fish may be spawned and released into the wild with the intention of increasing the overall number of fish available. There are many concerns about the negative effects of salmon aquaculture on wild fish populations and the marine environments in which farming takes place.
The methods used for salmon farming usually involve farming from a selected stock of fish. Eggs and sperm are harvested from well-stocked salmon and fertilized in controlled environments. The pups resulting from this breeding program are typically raised in freshwater tanks for a number of months until they are mature enough for marine cages. Juvenile salmon typically live in these freshwater tanks for a year or more before being transferred to saltwater.
One of the most important innovations in salmon aquaculture was the invention of the floating cage. These cages prevent fish from escaping, but must be placed in sensitive bays that are protected from storms to function properly. This makes countries such as Norway and Chile particularly popular for salmon aquaculture, as suitable marine areas are common in such countries.
While living in marine cages, salmon must be fed fish food made from other fish because salmon are carnivores. The salmon are kept in sea cages for a year or two and then harvested with nets. The fish are generally killed where they are farmed, unlike the practices in many other farming operations. There are no slaughterhouses for salmon, which means that companies involved in salmon aquaculture must be able to harvest the fish safely and effectively for human consumption as well. Usually, fish are killed quickly and humanely, both for the fish’s benefit and because fish release hormones when stressed that decrease the quality of their meat.
Some groups, however, engage only in the hatching portion of salmon aquaculture. These groups believe that by hatching and releasing the fish into rivers, the natural wild salmon population can be at least partially restored. This is usually not a great business plan for companies, as anyone can catch salmon, reducing your chances of earning money. For groups concerned not only with profit, but also with environmental health, this method of farming salmon provides the positive impact of a healthy salmon population without many of the negative environmental effects of salmon farming.
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