Early this week, my parents, my hubby, and the little one headed up to Redfish Lake for the afternoon and to enjoy an early dinner at the wonderful restaurant at the lodge. Two of the menu items were for salmon (one of my favorite foods), but before ordering, I had to find out if the fish were farmed (bad!!) or wild caught (less bad!). The waitress reported that the salmon was ocean farmed. What? I had not heard of this, so I knew immediately that I had some research to do.
Ocean farmed fish means that the fish were raised in their native waters, but caged in. They feed on their normal food but are protected from prey.
NPR wrote a great article (they are not always my favorite news source, but they did a good job here) that addresses the specifics ("farms" occur many miles from the coast to lessen the environmental impact than typical farms) but also the controversy regarding the fact that the fish that are being farmed are major predators and that breeding them in captivity puts stress on the ecosystem.
The drive behind this new wave of farming is that demand for fish has increased so dramatically in the last few years that the natural supply can no longer keep up with the
demand. This is a fairly new practice of raising fish and seems like it would have the same concerns (albeit very few) as wild caught fish (mercury is still a concern even in wild fish). Until we have some research assess the mercury content of these fish, I'd say that they are okay to eat in moderation (like on a very special night out). I will however, continue to only buy fish at my local PCC because they actually test for mercury in all the fish they sell, so that I can rest assured that the levels are zero.
Ocean farmed fish means that the fish were raised in their native waters, but caged in. They feed on their normal food but are protected from prey. NPR wrote a great article (they are not always my favorite news source, but they did a good job here) that addresses the specifics ("farms" occur many miles from the coast to lessen the environmental impact than typical farms) but also the controversy regarding the fact that the fish that are being farmed are major predators and that breeding them in captivity puts stress on the ecosystem. 
The drive behind this new wave of farming is that demand for fish has increased so dramatically in the last few years that the natural supply can no longer keep up with the demand. This is a fairly new practice of raising fish and seems like it would have the same concerns (albeit very few) as wild caught fish (mercury is still a concern even in wild fish). Until we have some research assess the mercury content of these fish, I'd say that they are okay to eat in moderation (like on a very special night out). I will however, continue to only buy fish at my local PCC because they actually test for mercury in all the fish they sell, so that I can rest assured that the levels are zero. 
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