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Kelly Williams
Mrs. Funk
Inquiry Skills Block 2-3
15 April 2014
Effects and Needed Changes of The Farm Raised Fish Industry
Fish such as tilapia and salmon are notorious for their high content of omega-3 and being
a healthy meal for everyday people. Shockingly, more often than not, this is not the case. There
are numerous facts about farm raised fish that the common consumer is not knowledgeable about
but it is in their best interest in order to protect themselves. Even though Farm raised fish is more
easily attained, and is more cost effective, this type of fish should not be eaten until momentous
changes are made, because it negatively impacts the environment around us and consumers, due
to the conditions the fish is kept in.
About Farmed Fish
To begin, farmed fish is raised in very high concentrations in shallow tanks. According to
Chris Wark, a cancer survivor that overcame cancer without chemo therapy, but solely on eating
healthy and has afterward devoted his life to health, these fish are kept in tanks with thousands of
other fish (Is Farmed-Fish Healthy?). Naturally, this would not happen; these fish are not
meant to exist in these conditions. This is not the only thing that is un-natural about this practice.
These Fish are not fed the typical food they would be eating in the wild. The fish are fed
fish, which includes concentrated fish feed and fish oil, supplying a high energy diet (Fish
Feed). These fish would not be fed this much fish in the wild. Often times, there is more than
just small fish in this feed, as well. Depending on where the fish lot is, there is an even more un-
naturalness to their food. For example, in Canada fish are fed the byproduct of chicken,
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incorporating intestines, feathers, and necks (Fish Feed). Farmedanddangerous.com, a website
made by experts on the subject, advocating change in this industry states that the first nine
ingredients on Winter Plus 3500, a common fish feed, include Poultry Meal, Fish Meal, Poultry
Fat, Fish Oil, Whole Wheat, Soybean Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Feather Meal, [and] Rapeseed
Oil (Fish Feed). In normal situations, fish would never encounter chickens in their lives, and
unquestionably not consume them. Although this fact is distressing, the most dreadful one is yet
to come. Ingesting farm-raised-fish also means you are taking in dyes. Because fish such as
salmon get their natural pink coloration from their diet, which consists of shrimp, the fisheries
have to die the meat, by adding pink or red dies to the feed, in order to get the pigment
consumers are familiar, and more comfortable with (Wark, Is Farmed-Fish Healthy?). Clearly,
there are many secrets the common shopper is unaware of.
One common characteristic of Farmed fisheries is where they are raised. Often times,
these fish are held in pens, in shallow parts of the ocean in fenced-off-corrals called floating
feedlots, according to a Harvard Health Letter (Hooked on Fish? There Might Be Some
Catches). Although this might not seem important, this setting is one of the main reasons there
should be major changes in this operation.
Environmental Effects
Although common people may think that this practice benefits the environment, this
statement is completely inaccurate. Many customers assume that farm raised fish aids in
reducing overfishing in our oceans; however this is not the case. Clare Hoar, from Scientific
American, states that it takes five pounds of smaller fish, which are put in the feed, to make a
pound of farm raised tilapia, or salmon ("Sea Change"). This means that in fact, it increases
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the threat of overfishing, which is a major problem in our oceans today. If the nature of this
practice continues, the oceans ecosystem will break way.
Another frequent problem of the conditions of farmed fishing is their location; the
floating feedlots result in major problems in the ocean. In cases of salmon raising, these fish are
held so close together that they frequently get cases of sea lice. Because juvenile wild salmon
live closer to shore, they are obtaining sea lice from the feedlots (Sea Lice). In juvenile
salmon, it can take just one sea lice to be a lethal ammount. This means that there are less salmon
growing to an older age, and less salmon for predators including bears.
The waste from this process results in a significant amount of pollution, as well. Chris
Wark, the health enthusiast and cancer survivor mentioned earlier also says that a fishery drops
as much sewage into the ocean as a city of 1,000 people (Is Farmed-Fish Healthy?). This un-
necessary additional waste contributes to all animals in the ocean to have a harsher, un-healthier
living condition.
One major environmental effect is the escapees. In these lots, smaller fish have a chance
of escaping. This hurts our oceans, because these fish are carrying toxins, and sea lice that can
contaminate other fish. Wild fish, in the surrounding environment are naturally attracted to these
feedlots, and get caught in the net (Environmental Impacts). The wild fish die in the nets,
which therefore affects the food chain by not supplying their predators with enough food, and
alloy their prey to reach higher populations.
Health Effects
The health effects are just as worse as the environmental effects, and the reason is
because of the conditions they are living in. In fact, consuming farmed fish has over 10% more
cancer-causing-toxins than wild fish (Axe, Eating Tilapia is Worse Than Eating Bacon). This
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is a significantly high chance of getting sick. There are numerous mutagens incorporated in
eating farm raised fish. To start, consuming this fish means you are also consuming harmful
toxins. One of the main toxins, according to The University at Albany Institute for Health and
the Environment is polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. PCBs are a chemical the United Nations
aimed to make fade out, because it is a carcinogen, wrecks neurological, reproductive, thyroid,
and immune systems, and during developmental stages in the womb can cause a lower IQ, poor
attentive skills, and effects reading skills (Carcinogens Found in Farmed Salmon). Clearly,
consuming farmed fish while pregnant is especially not a recommended choice to assure babys
health. Unfortunately, this is not the only toxin in these fish. Dioxins are another major poison
present, which is nearly as bad as the first. Dioxins affect the reproductive system, development
in children, the immune system, as well as the endocrine system (Carcinogens Found in Farmed
Salmon). If exposed to too much dioxin, that persons health is at risk. Another carcinogen in
farmed fish is toxaphene. Toxaphene can negatively affect lungs, nervous system, kidneys, and
at high levels, can cause death (Carcinogens Found in Farmed Salmon). Although a piece of
farmed fish will not have enough toxaphene to kill a person, consuming something that at high
amounts can kill you is not advised. Dieldren is another horrible carcinogen found in these fish,
which make eating farm raised fish a bad idea. Dieldren may affect the liver, nervous system,
and possibly the reproductive system (Carcinogens Found in Farmed Salmon). If all of this can
happen from eating a piece of meat, it is not worth it to risk obtaining cancer, or possibly worse.
Although fish is thought of as a lean, healthy food, some people claim it is worse for you
than bacon, or other red meat. According to Dr.Axe, an expert nutritionist, in comparison to
bacon, farmed fish results in more inflammation (Eating Tilapia is Worse Than Eating Bacon).
Inflammation leads to further problems, such as arthritis, asthma, and other health problems. Dr.
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Axe also says that farmed tilapia can have more fat, and less protein and omega-3 than its
opponent, bacon (Eating Tilapia is Worse Than Eating Bacon). This makes since, because
these fish cannot swim around very much, due to the fact that they are caged in, resulting in
fattier fish.
It is also proven that farm-raised-fish have a less favorable taste. According to the
Harvard Health letter, comparatively, wild fish has a more intense flavor (Hooked on Fish?
There Might Be Some Catches). If this is the case, than farm raised fish is defective for many
reasons; it is significantly unhealthier for you, and is also less enjoyable to consume.
Changes to This Field
Although there are many things wrong with consuming farm raised fish, it is not a
hopeless case. There are many factors about this operation we can change to make it more
effective, and have to positive outcomes out-weigh the negative outcomes. According to Clare
Leschin-Hoar, a journalist for the Scientific American, there has already been many attempts to
solve this ongoing problem. One of the current endeavors of fixing this problem is happening in
Washington, where they are raising Coho Salmon in freshwater on-land tanks (Sea Change:
Environmental Group Gives First-Time Nod to Sustainable Salmon-Farming Method).
Currently, Coho Salmon naturally lives in salt water, however in this method workers are
bringing salmon back millions and millions of years ago to when they lived in fresh water. They
are also giving each salmon a DNA Fingerprint to assure there is no unintentional breeding. The
process they are using cuts back on many environmental changes, such as waste pollution,
escapes, sea lice contamination, and killing other fish in nets.
However, this new process still has numerous negative consequences that can be still
reduced. Farmed fish should not be encouraged, or purchase until certain changes are made. The
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first major one is transferring all feed lots on land, into tanks. This will reduce a majority of the
environmental pollution. The next important change that is necessary is the size of the fishs
living quarters. Either getting larger tanks or placing fewer fish in one tank will reduce the
amount of fat in the fish, resulting in a healthier consumption. The feed also needs to be
adjusted. The Harvard Health Letter addresses the fact that scientist are currently working on a
vegetable-based feed (Hooked on Fish? There May Be Some Catches). Shifting to this will
notably decrease the amount of over-fishing; however it would also lower the amount of omega-
3 content significantly. Undoubtedly, there is a lot of work yet to do to perfect the fishing
business; there are significant alterations that need to be made immediately.
As you can see, there are bountiful negative effects of farm-raised fish. Nonetheless, this
form of sustaining the worldly population with fish is not something we should abandon. After
tweaking the system so that the environment and buyers bodies are happy, it should be
continued.
Works Cited
Axe, Josh, Dr. "Eating Tilapia Is Worse Than Eating Bacon." DrAxe.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 06
Apr. 2014.<http://draxe.com/eating-tilapia-is-worse-than-eating-bacon/>.
"Contaminants Found in Farmed Salmon." Albany.edu. Institute for Health and The
Environment University at Albany, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
<http%3A%2F%2Fwww.albany.edu%2Fihe%2Fsalmonstudy%2Fcontaminants.html>.
"Environmental Impacts." Farmed And Dangerous. CAAR, n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.farmedanddangerous.org/salmon-farming-problems/environmental-
impacts/>.
Frequently Asked Questions." Farmed And Dangerous. CAAR, n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.farmedanddangerous.org/salmon-farming-problems/frequently-asked-
questions/#solutions>.
Hoar, Clare L. "Sea Change: Environmental Group Gives First-Time Nod to Sustainable
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Salmon-Farming Method." Scientific American Global RSS. Scientific American, 10 Jan.
2010. Web. 06 Apr. 2014. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/coho-salmon-
farming/>.
"Hooked on fish? There might be some catches." Harvard Health Letter Jan. 2003. Gale Power
Search. Web. 1 Apr. 2014.
"Sea Lice." Farmed And Dangerous. CAAR, n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2014
. <http://www.farmedanddangerous.org/salmon-farming-problems/environmental-
impacts/sea-lice/>.
Wark, Chris. "Is Farm-Raised Fish Healthy? | ChrisBeatCancer.com."ChrisBeatCancer.com.
N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2014. <https://www.chrisbeatcancer.com/is-farm-raised-fish-
healthy/>.