Salmon Farming and Human Health

Farmed salmon filets: artificial colouring, antibiotics and high levels of saturated fat.

The salmon farming industry has capitalized on the good reputation of wild salmon as a healthy food. But farmed fish don't match the benefits of wild fish—what's more, most farmed salmon production depends on chemicals that consumers don't expect to find in their salmon filet.

Disease and parasites are common to all salmon farms. Farmers try to control them with powerful drugs including antibiotics and pesticides. Farmed salmon are also contaminated by chemicals.

A 2005 study in the Journal of Nutrition recommended that farmed salmon should be consumed only in limited amounts. This is especially important in the case of young children and women of child-bearing age, due to concerns about problems such as reduction in IQ and other cognitive and behavioural effects.

Authors of the study noted that consumers should be aware that eating even one or two meals of farmed salmon per month may exceed acceptable contaminant levels. They recommend that farmed salmon should always be clearly labeled as "farmed" with the country of origin clearly identified so that consumers can make educated choices.

More unhealthy fats

Many people eat salmon because it is a good source of Omega-3, an essential fatty acid. Omega-3 has been linked to the prevention and treatment of a wide range of illnesses and chronic conditions from cancer to Attention Deficit Disorder.

Wild salmon have a consistently high ratio of Omega-3 to Omega-6 fats. In farmed salmon, this ratio varies widely depending on the amount of fish product in their feed. Farmed Atlantic salmon contain 200 percent more unhealthy, saturated fat than wild Pacific pink or chum salmon. This has led some health professionals to question the nutritional value of farmed salmon.

"Not only is the fat content of farmed salmon higher than that of wild salmon but the composition of farmed salmon fat is also less healthy than that of wild salmon fat."

Warren Bell MD, President of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE)

False colours

Fish farm companies choose the colour of their salmon from the SalmoFan.

Tender pink flesh is one of the most recognizable, and desired, characteristics of wild salmon. The pink hues, ranging from the Sockeye’s vivid red to the delicate shade of Pink salmon, are due to the tiny crustaceans eaten by wild salmon.

Farmed salmon do not enjoy the natural diets wild salmon do. Instead, colour needs to be added to farmed salmon feed to change the flesh from an unappetizing grey colour to a "salmon" pink. Using a colour fan, most salmon farming companies choose the color of their end product—often preferring the vibrant red that consumers associate with healthy, wild salmon and will pay more for.