Farm-Fresh Fish

Over the past four decades, there has been a sharp worldwide increase in aquaculture. In just a few short weeks, some experts project that we will reach a tipping point where half of the fish and shellfish we consume will be raised by humans, rather than caught in the wild.

In an article entitled “Feeding Aquaculture in an Era of Finite Resources” in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Ronald W. Hardy of the University of Idaho and his colleagues argue that we desperately need technological advances to improve the efficiency of aquaculture. In a recent article in the Washington Post, Hardy suggests that without these advances, we may wipe out the forage fish that lie at the bottom of the ocean’s food chain and possibly contaminate parts of the sea.

The Washington Post notes that the ready availability of farmed fish comes with a price: “Consumers will have to accept that they are eating a different kind of fish than the ones that swim wild: ones that might have eaten unused poultry trimmings, been vaccinated, consumed antibiotics or been selected for certain genetic traits.”

In 1970, farmed fish accounted for just 6.3 percent of seafood consumed around the world. Today, that number has increased to 50 percent. These numbers reflect both the consumer demand and the changing face of the fishing industry. In the Washington Post article, Sebastian Belle, executive director of the Maine Aquaculture Association, states that three-quarters of his group’s members are either current or former commercial fishermen. He notes that the average age of Maine residents with a fishing lease permit is 57, but the average for those with a fish-farm permit is 33. He calls them “the next generation of watermen.”

In 2006, an international group of ecologists and economists warned that the world will run out of seafood by 2048 if sharp declines in fish species continue at current rates. Cited in the Washington Post, the experts warned that these declines can be attributed to overfishing, pollution, and other environmental factors. But there will be a ripple effect: when species are wiped out, it will hamper the “the ocean’s ability to produce seafood, filter nutrients, and resist the spread of disease.”

So how do we do this balancing act? If we only eat fish caught in the wild, will we unwittingly be contributing to overfishing? But if we turn to farmed fish that may have been treated with vaccines or antibiotics, what will be the repercussions? Worldwide, half of all the fish that we now eat has been raised on farms (and of those, nearly two-thirds are located in China). As consumers, we need to educate ourselves and make the best decision for our health, our family, and our world.