GO WILD

Farmed fish is found all over grocery stores and at many restaurants.  The fish raised—in netted cages in coastal waters—currently provide almost one third of all seafood sold.   And with the U.S. government pushing for increased production (in order to erase a seafood trade deficit), estimates are that half the fish consumed worldwide will be farm-raised by the year 2025.

Due to our growing population and over-fishing, various species are now limited.

Manufactured fish feeds from farmed fish escape into the wild, killing off natural species. 

Farmed fish may contain high levels of contaminants like PCBs, and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE). According to research published by the Environmental Working Group, PCBs found in farmed salmon (at levels 16 times higher than in wild salmon) in U.S. grocery stores are in levels high enough to pose an increased risk for cancer.

Farmed fish are generally less nutritious than wild fish. While fish is good for you—low in saturated fat and high in protein, amino acids, and omega fatty acids—there is a substantial difference between farmed fish and wild fish. According to FDA studies, farmed fish are fattier (cultivated catfish have nearly five times as much fat as wild, for example). Wild salmon were found to have a 20 percent higher protein content and a 20 percent lower fat content than farm-raised salmon. And farm-raised fish contain twice as much omega 6 fats (pro-inflammatory) than their wild counterparts.

The Environmental Impacts of Fish Farming Include:

1. Farmed fish are grown in floating net cages and impact wild fish and other marine species by spreading sea lice, disease and parasites.

2. Farmed fish are given antibiotics, other drugs and pesticides. The drug-laden wastes from surplus food and feces pollute the marine environment and cause marine mammal deaths and waste build up.

3. The introduction of exotic species is extremely harmful to local ecosystems, causing algae blooms and is one of the greatest threats to nature.

4. Farmed fish escape from their net cages—often by the thousands—and can displace fragile wild stocks from their habitat.

Farmed fish feed has been found to contain:

•      Salmonellae

•      Mycotoxins

•      Veterinary drug residues

•      Persistent organic pollutants, agricultural and other chemicals (solvent residues, melamine)

•      Heavy metals (mercury, lead, cadmium)

•      Excess mineral salts (hexavalent chromium, arsenic, selenium, flourine)

•      Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.

Visit the link below to see a complete list of Seafood Eco-ratings

http://apps.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=1540