Farm-Raised Seafood: 5 Picks

Photo: Kona Blue Water Farm

Farm-raised seafood gets a bad-rap, often for good reason. There are problems associated with pesticide and antibiotic use, escapement of non-native species, over-harvesting of wild juveniles used to enhance a fish farm's stock or the pilfering of small wild fish which are ground-up to make feed pellets.

By the end of this year, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations predicts that human consumption of farm-raised seafood will surpass that of wild-caught for the first time in human history. That may not come as a complete shocker if you've noticed the number of farm-raised offerings on restaurant menus and at your local fish counter.

But here's a nugget of good news. You don't need to lump all farm-raised seafood into the dreaded "avoid" category. Experts say there are several you should actually be seeking out. To help, we've picked five good choices to get you started. ...

• Farm-raised oysters, clams and mussels -- Taras Grescoe, author of "Bottomfeeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood," lists these bivalves in the "absolutely always" category. They're filter feeders, which means they naturally clean the ocean and can help reduce dead zones. Even better? Pesticides and antibiotics aren't needed to raise them.
• Massachusetts-based Australis Aquaculture earned a 2009 Seafood Champion Award from the Seafood Choices Alliance for their farm-raised barramundi. This mild buttery white fish is grown in circulating tanks (which means no chance of escapement) with low feed ratios, and the fish high in those coveted Omega-3s.
• U.S. farm-raised trout gets a thumbs-up from environmental groups for the industry's good management practices and low feed ratios. It's a versatile, affordable fish, grown primarily in Idaho.
• Strict U.S. laws limit environmental impacts of American farm-raised shrimp, which isn't necessarily true for the imported variety. Check-out the Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) on those frozen packages of shrimp at your grocer. Chances are, most will come from Asia or Latin America, and according to the Seafood Watch Guide, are ones to avoid because of issues surrounding pollution, destruction of important mangroves and loss of habitat for other native fish.
• Farmed in the waters off Hawaii, Kona Blue's hatch-to-harvest approach and their sustainable diet means this farm-raised Kampachi is a good alternative to the less sustainable hamachi. Deep water, strong currents and a sand bottom mean there's no detectable impact on water quality, and the fish are native to the waters they're farmed in, reducing the impacts of any potential escapes.