Farmed versus wild salmon: Research review The debate over farmed salmon raises a number of health and environmental questions. This explainer and research review will help journalists sort through the noise. by David Trilling October 3, 2017 (Was Hellar, c. 1600s University of Tort Library) Evidenced by the rapidly growing salmon-farm industry, almon fish. The volume of farmed Atlantic salmon increased almost according to United Nations statistic; 75 percent of all the salmon we cat is farm-Wild caught salmon, meanwhile, has become a luxury, it's harder to find and generally more expensive Aquaculture is often hailed as a solution to fooding our growing plant. A 2017 studyi Ecology & Evolution estimates that fish farms could produce 15 billion tons of fish per your over 100mm food than humans cmntly cut. In the case of clantic salmon-them popular famed variety--the farms consist of large cages anchored offshore, ply Norway, Chile, Canada and other prodators, which pisciculturists often fight with pesticides and other chemicals A growing body of research-accompanied by an explosion of media reports with conting information-suggests consumers have questions about farmed salmon and the risks it could p to their health and the environment. This brief overview will identify trends in academic sks of sea lice and posticides, antibiotic use and ecological concerne There are many types of fish in the Salmonidae family pink salmon, chinook, sockeye salmon include several subspecies. All provide important nutrients, such as vitamin B12, and protein. Their omega-3 fatty acids (popularly known as "good fat" "thrif But a 2006 paper in Nature found that ever the previous 10 years, the omega-3s in farmed salmon according to the US. Department of Agriculture (Most wild salmon sold in the United States from the Pacific) Of course, the occare far from pristine and all fish have some contaminants Researchers have found mercury in wild salmon, though whether the amount is higher in farmed or wildl is are also a growing concern, both in wild and fam famed in Washington state and Chile, the paper said, had lower in levels. Later prod But the industry may be changing. A 2015 study found that the level of some con n in Norwegian-farmed Alantic salmon PCB Several studies have also raised concos about polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs in both fam anchovies and homing, that are then fed to salmon A 2006ly found that changes to flood composition in Norwegian fish farms have resulted in falling PCB levels there Salmon his naturallyed, at least in the wild, because salmon food on krill and shrimp that The use of bits in agriculture for decades has provided ample evidence of resistance spreading from food into humans. A similar trend appears to be happening with farmed f A newer concern, detailed in a September 2007 paper in Environmental Science and Technology, industry alone almost half a billion dollars in 2011, according to 2017 One solution in pesticides. Emmetin boat is often used to treat salice, though the Sout government has fought with a local trade group over its salty, with authorities calling for a sharp Pisciculturists also use pyrethroids. A 2007 study in Food and Chemical Tonology found pids in 100 percent of farmed salmon samples and, though at much lower level 50 percent of wild salmon samples. The authors note that the chemical was not found at high enough levels to pose a threat to humans, but remind readers that pyrethroids can have toxic effects in mammals. Researchers are looking at alternative treatments. Some are developing lasers to target the lice; others are looking at farming salmon alongside mussels and scallops, which may eat larval sea lice. Ecosystems and contaminating wild fish Thousands of Atlantic salmon escaped a farm off Washington state in August 2017, introducing a non-native species into a delicate ecosystem and highlighting concerns about the transfer of parasites and diseases into the wild, where they cannot be treated. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has published several studies on how aquaculture may impact wild fish populations' natural defense mechanisms. A forthcoming paper in Ecological Economics assesses the economic impact of sea lice transmission from fish farms to wild salmon stocks in the Canadian Pacific. What's next? Genetically modified salmon In 2015 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a federal regulator, approved the sale for consumption of genetically modified salmon. The AquAdvantage salmon, designed by Massachusetts-based AquaBounty, grows twice as fast as Atlantic salmon, the company says, in land-locked tanks. But a debate over labeling has delayed sales in the U.S., with critics, including Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, deriding the AquAdvantage salmon as "frankenfish." (Alaska is home to the world's largest wild salmon industry, which has been hurt by increased salmon farming.) Other resources: The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Fish and Wildlife Service at the Department of Interior, The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service, Canadian Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans. Citations: Abolofia, Jay; Asche, Frank; Wilen, James E. "The Cost of Lice: Quantifying the Impacts of Parasitic Sea Lice on Farmed Salmon." Marine Resource Economics, 2017. DOI: 10.1086/691981. Done, Hansa Y.; Venkatesan, Arjun K.; Halden, Rolf U. "Does the Recent Growth of Aquaculture Create Antibiotic Resistance Threats Different from those Associated with Land Animal Production in Agriculture?" The AAPS Journal, 2015. DOI: 10.1208/s12248-015-9722-z. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. "The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2016." ISBN 978-92-5-109185-2. Gentry, Rebecca R. "Mapping the Global Potential for Marine Aquaculture." Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2017. DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0257-9. Hites, Ronald A.; et al. "Global Assessment of Organic Contaminants in Farmed Salmon." Science, 2004. DOI: 10.1126/science.1091447. Lerfall, Jørgen; et al. "A Comparative Study of Organic Versus Conventional Farmed Atlantic Salmon. I. Pigment and Lipid Content and Composition, and Carotenoid Stability in Ice-Stored Fillets." Aquaculture, 2016. DOI: 10.1016/j.aquaculture.2015.09.013. Li, Jian; et al. "An Economic Assessment of Astaxanthin Production by Large Scale Cultivation of Haematococcus Pluvialis." Biotechnology Advances, 2011. DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2011.04.001. Sprague, M.; et al. "Impact of Sustainable Feeds on Omega-3 Long-Chain Fatty Acid Levels in Farmed Atlantic Salmon, 2006-2015." Nature: Scientific Reports, 2016. DOI: 10.1038/srep21892. Source: The Journalist's Resource - David Trilling Journal reference: Review of articles from Nature Ecology & Evolution 21