"farmed salmon" news and stories

You've seen the "dirty dozen" list for produce -- fruits and vegetables that are laden with pesticides, making it worth the cost of buying organic. But did you know there's also a dirty dozen list for fish? Food & Water Watch -- a non-profit group that works to ensure the food, water and fish we consume is safe, accessible and sustainably produced -- publishes an annual "do not eat" list.

Why is it noteworthy? As Barry Estabrook, writer at The Atlantic, explains in a recent article, "Seafood guides tend to focus either on species that should be avoided for reasons related to environmental health (overfishing) or species that should be avoided for reasons related to human health (their flesh is contaminated with chemicals). Food and Water Watch publishes a useful guide that takes both concerns into account."

The below fish fail at least two of their criteria for safe and sustainable seafood. The five criteria are: contaminants; status of the stock; catch method or farming method; economic/social/cultural significance (a community predominantly fishes for this species and depends on it); and key species (it's a primary food source for other wildlife or does it create critical habitat for other wildlife).

• Imported catfish
• Caviar from wild-caught sturgeon
• Atlantic cod
• American eel
• Atlantic flounder, sole, and halibut
• Imported king crab
• Imported shrimp
• Farmed salmon
• Chilean seabass
• Shark
• Atlantic bluefin tuna

The good news? Food & Water Watch offers a downloadable wallet-size guide to "smart" seafood, and also has resources on the site to help you find sustainable alternatives based on your fish tastes (mild, thick and flavorful, etc.).

As we reported back in June, genetically modified Atlantic salmon are on the fast-track to your dinner plate. Massachusetts-based biotech company, AquaBounty Technologies is expected to get the final FDA nod of approval for a salmon that has been genetically tweaked to boost productivity thanks to a growth-hormone gene from a Chinook salmon and a genetic "on switch" from an ocean pout.

If approved, the salmon would be the first genetically modified animal approved for human consumption. A coalition of environmental groups, including Food & Water Watch and Center for Food Safety, say the move is alarming and are strongly urging the FDA to reject the fish.

Last week, government scientists spurred debate over genetically modifying animals for food by going on record to say the AquaBounty salmon was safe to eat and posed no threat to the environment, according to a Washington Post article.

The Salmon Farm Protest Group has announced plans to hold an Action Hour across the UK on the 14th October.

The protest, to be held outside the UK's supermarkets will run from 11am to noon. The purpose? the groups activists will distibute leaflets highlighting the damage that fish farms have done and are doing to the wild slamon and sea trout and to the environment.

They wish to highlight the hidden costs of buying cheap salmon from fish farms. These include the pollution of coastal and freshwater lochs, wild fish driven to near extinction by fish farm sea lice, significant levels of dioxins in farmed fish and the dominance of mulit-national foreign-owned companies has led to job losses in rural communities.

More details of the Salmon Farm Protest Group on their website.

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