This juvenile chum salmon shows just one of the devastating problems created by salmon farms. Photo courtesy of salmonaresacred.org
I’m willing to bet that the majority of our readers love sushi and sashimi. Am I right? What on earth is better than a slab of hamachi, maguro or sake (salmon) dipped in a slurry of wasabi and soy? And if it’s fresh enough, you can skip the dip. Sushi-grade fish, served fresh and cool, is heavenly and surprisingly addictive. If you’re like me, you feel energized and blissful after a great sushi meal, compared to the lethargy that comes from most other restaurant fare.
But did you know that most of the salmon served at our sushi joints is farm-raised Atlantic salmon? And did you know that salmon farming is killing our wild fish and degrading our estuaries? This is not just my opinion, this is an historical fact. Norwegian-owned farms nearly wiped out wild Atlantic Salmon before being run out of the North Atlantic, and now Pacific Northwest salmon and steelhead are being beat into submission. In Chile, where these farms have run rampant and are practically unregulated, disease is a constant problem, and environmental degradation follows the industry like a noxious black cloud.
Let me ask you another question: Have you ever wondered how it is that salmon and steelhead populations in Puget Sound and Southern British Columbia continually flounder, even as other West Coast fisheries rebound? It has long been evident that there is some “x-factor” limiting these fish. Many people point to urban/industrial pollution in the Sound, others to hatchery programs. The list of harmful activities is long, no doubt. And with all those potential pathogens, it’s been all too easy for area residents to throw up their arms in defeat. “How can I fix this?” we ponder, and then we jump in our SUVs and head for the grocery store.
Well, there is something you can do! There’s something that all of need to do: stop buying farm-raised salmon. You can take it one important step further by asking your local sushi chefs and restaurant owners to do the same. Be nice, be positive, but let them know how important this issue is to you, and how much you would appreciate it if they would offer only wild salmon. A little known fact: traditional sake (salmon) in sushi bars is wild sockeye salmon. Sushi restaurants feed us dumb Americans swimming hot dogs because it’s cheap and we’re to dumb to know any better.
Get Informed!
Pacific Salmon have a lot of friends, but none so important as the author and activist, Alexandra Morton. Alex, as she is know to her millions of fans, has worked on the front lines of this problem since the first salmon farm moved into British Columbia’s remote Broughton Archipelago in the late 1980’s. Over the last several years, Alex has devoted her waking hours to raising awareness of the toxic effects of salmon farms and convincing the Canadian and Provincial governments to protect wild salmon.
Take ten minutes out of your day, click on the link below, and arm yourself with the facts you need to become a foot soldier for our wild salmon and steelhead. And please, please, please, hold fast to your commitment: no more farmed salmon, period.
The journey begins here: http://www.salmonaresacred.org/about-alexandra-morton
And here’s breaking news: http://salmonaresacred.org/blog/sea-lice-pesticides-kept-secret
We can make a BIG difference.
-RR
Interesting points you give as to why stay away from farmed fish. But I must say that we will agree on one thing, that people should get educated. There is more to this issue than Alex Morton will have you believe.
The demand for salmon has increased tremendously and we can not support this demand on wild stocks. Fish Farms purpose is to take the pressure off the wild stocks. If you’re going to become educated about the issues make sure you are educated about both sides.
Check out some of the myths on this informative website http://www.farmfreshsalmon.org/
Molly, I have no doubt that blatant diversion works for you and many others. But it is an obfusgation based in lies. Look at the sources, and look at the intent. An overwhelming body of evidence shows that estuarine salmon farming is killing wild salmon and groundfish. The only activists fighting this reality are those who have been romanced by the industry. If, in fact, aquaculture is the answer to demand, it must be moved out of our estuaries. Please consider putting your soothing talents to work on behalf of wild salmon, rather than allowing yourself to be the mouthpiece for an industry that is polluting our estuaries and killing our wild fauna.
I gave up farmed salmon years ago. The last bastion was at sushi bars, but I have given it up and I don’t miss it too much. Not all farmed fish is bad, some can be responsibly raised. For a good salmon alternative try farmed steelhead trout, from Costco. It is responsibly raised, healthy and it is not produced in open ocean nets. The fish is very salmon like, and it’s a great choice for when salmon is out of season. I would love to find a sushi bar that would serve me quality, wild, salmon. A colleague of mine, just the other day, mentioned that his bar serves “Ocean Trout”, which is steelhead trout. He won’t eat farmed salmon either. I’ll have to try it out.