Seafood Consumers: Making the Right Choice

Tag : Frozen Tilapia

For instance, typical salmon farms raise Atlantic salmon in openpens on coastal waters, allowing fish waste to pollute thesurrounding waters.

Additionally, much like conventionally raised terrestriallivestock, farmed fish are often very densely stocked, creatingconditions for parasites and diseases to readily multiply. Toremedy this, antibiotics and other chemical treatments areadministered into the water or through feed.

And because Atlantic salmon are natural predators, they are fedhigh levels of fish oil and meal, which primarily consist ofwild-caught fish. For these reasons, salmon farming contributes to,rather than alleviates, the pressures on global fish stocks.Well-run aquaculture facilities are designed to minimize theirenvironmental impact. These kinds of farms often stock species lowon the food chain, use closed systems to recycle water and do notdischarge untreated wastes. Seafood from such facilities includesmollusks (clams, oysters, mussels and bay scallops), tilapia fromUS farms, striped bass, arctic char and catfish.

While fish farms strive to supplement the world’s fishsupply, wild-caught fish can still be on the menus of conscientiousconsumers. Well-managed fisheries utilize sustainable capturepractices, do not damage fragile marine ecosystems and provideconservation incentives for fishers. And wild fish such as Atlanticmackerel and Alaskan salmon make healthy and environmentallyfriendly meals.

According to Mrs Lindstrom tne misconception is that“local” or domestic food is automatically anenvironmentally preferable choice; however, seafood from anunsustainable local fishery may actually leave a larger ecologicalfootprint than fish that have been transported from further away.

Transportation mode is a critical factor. According to the USDepartment of Commerce, more than 80 percent of the country’sseafood is imported, she says, making local seafood difficult toactually procure. "Flying fresh fish by air freightcontributes substantially more to greenhouse gas emissions thansending frozen fish across the ocean by container ship."
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