BC Farmed salmon

[Vancouver]

Another problem at the fish farms of BC: Fish malachite green carcinogen found in BC salmon

Thought you'd want to know....

[canucklehead]

Tojo's throws his weight behind wild salmon Vancouver Sun Article

More discussion in the debate.

[GrandCru19]

I find this farmed Salmon debate fasinating. And there are thousands of opinons out there and what seems like very little in the way of facts.

So, in the effort of hearing more of both,

what is the biggest issues that make people go one side or the other?

Taste profile? Enviorment implications? Cost?

What really is better?

[Daddy-A]

I find this farmed Salmon debate fasinating.  And there are thousands of opinons out there and what seems like very little in the way of facts.

A good way to get facts would be to join us at the Sustainability Luncheon at C CLICK.

As the issue of salmon farming is a global one, the debate needs to continue elsewhere. Discussion here should relate to the BC Farmed fish industry.

General fish farming discussion already underway:

Salmon - Wild vs. Farmed

"Wild" Atlantic Salmon

A.

[~cayenne~]

The television show Boston Legal will be featuring a story based on the B.C. Farmed Salmon Industry tonight (Oct 11), as described in this link.

Featuring of course one of our famous Canadian exports, Captain Kirk.

Should be interesting to see what spin this puts on this controversial subject, hoping it weighs in favour of the non farmed in the ocean side.

[Feedbag]

Caught that episode last night. Although some say the

actual issue was brought up in a rather preachy, lecturing

way by James Spader's character, nonetheless it turned the

spotlight on it in a really fun but serious way (I know that

sounds weird, but if you saw it you'd probably agree).

Interesting that our "resident Canadian" Shatner's

character was ignorant on the subject and initially

disinterested in doing anything about it. Maybe that's the

right way to handle it so it didn't come off as a "Canadian"

issue.

In any event, I'm glad it got such wide exposure, both

here in Canada and in the US. Naturally, the farms are up in arms

over it. How nice it would be if they'd simply stop defending the

practices and actually acknowledge there's a problem and be a

part of the solution instead. One can only dream, huh?

The episode sure showcased BC nicely. Man, they had good weather

for "Finding Nimmo". Wish I had the $2000-plus a night to check

the place out myself....

[Vancouver Lee]

Did anyone have their VCR running and be willing to lend out the tape?

[fud]

A good way to get facts would be to join us at the Sustainability Luncheon at C CLICK.

As the issue of salmon farming is a global one, the debate needs to continue elsewhere.  Discussion here should relate to the BC Farmed fish industry.

I read somewhere that 'C' has some tank raised salmon as well as part of the Aquarium's Oceanwise program. So whats the deal with "tank" raised over farmed. Does it just mean that the waste isn't cycled into the ocean?

[kontemporary]

Yes - since it's an environment completely isolated from the natural one. Farmed salmon are at huge risk for parasites and what they are fed (in place of their normal diet) often contains harmful chemicals. Someone might want to elaborate on this further, because my knowledge is limited (too busy eating vs learning during that C lunch)

[jamiemaw]

A good way to get facts would be to join us at the Sustainability Luncheon at C CLICK.

As the issue of salmon farming is a global one, the debate needs to continue elsewhere.  Discussion here should relate to the BC Farmed fish industry.

I read somewhere that 'C' has some tank raised salmon as well as part of the Aquarium's Oceanwise program. So whats the deal with "tank" raised over farmed. Does it just mean that the waste isn't cycled into the ocean?

←

Closed environment farming eliminates in-situ fecal and feed pellet pollution, and the escapement of sea lice into the juvenile wild population. In the case of C, the coho are farmed in Agassiz, an area previously not well known for its coho production. Coho has a firm, tight texture, removing one of the chief complaints against most farmed product--the mush factor.

Edited October 13, 2005 by jamiemaw (log)

[Keith Talent]

Anyone happen to see the ad the salmon farmers took out in the front section of yetserdays Globe? Anyone support or refute their claims?

[jamiemaw]

Anyone happen to see the ad the salmon farmers took out in the front section of yetserdays Globe? Anyone support or refute their claims?

←

No. What did they say, Keith?

[Keith Talent]

That Pink returns through the Broughton acrhipeligo have increased since farming has begun in the area, that two peer reviewed papers have been published recently in scientific journals stating that lice do not transfer between farmed and wild fish and that salmon is yummy.

Someone needs to rifle through their blue box for yesterdays Globe, the specifics elude me. Namely the URL's to further info.

[fud]

Closed environment farming eliminates in-situ fecal and feed pellet pollution, and the escapement of sea lice into the juvenile wild population. In the case of C, the coho are farmed in Agassiz, an area previously not well known for its coho production.  Coho has a firm, tight texture, removing one of the chief complaints against most farmed product--the mush factor.

←

So then the next question is...where does the "tank" waste go?

[jamiemaw]

Closed environment farming eliminates in-situ fecal and feed pellet pollution, and the escapement of sea lice into the juvenile wild population. In the case of C, the coho are farmed in Agassiz, an area previously not well known for its coho production.  Coho has a firm, tight texture, removing one of the chief complaints against most farmed product--the mush factor.

←

So then the next question is...where does the "tank" waste go?

←

It is recycled to fertilize Bruce's adjoining wasabi ranch.

[Keith Talent]

Call me a greenhorn city slicker, but does one really "ranch" wasabi? I "ranched" some pretty nice basil out in pots on the deck this year.

[sanrensho]

Call me a greenhorn city slicker, but does one really "ranch" wasabi?

OED says yes:

"Ranch: 2. A large cattle-breeding establishment, esp. in N. America; a large establishment where animals of some other kind (esp. foxes or mink) are bred, or a particular crop grown (freq. w. specifying wd). E19."

I suppose you could lay claim to "ranching" basil, assuming that your entire home is devoted to growing basil. If so, I would like to stop by some time to pick up a large order of basil for some freezer pesto.

[fud]

^ I didn't know wasabi root could be grown in BC! I brougth some back from Osaka and the agriculture canada guys were perplexed on what to do with it when they found it in my carry-on. In fact I do believe they didnt know what wasabi was! That was rather alarming.

[jamiemaw]

Call me a greenhorn city slicker, but does one really "ranch" wasabi? I "ranched" some pretty nice basil out in pots on the deck this year.

←

Keith,

Typically the cut-off is a quarter section. My uncle is a longtime dental floss rancher though, and looks down his nose at anyone ranching less than 2,000 acres. By the way, the fine, menthol type is much harder to grow in coastal conditions, but attracts a higher market price. His foray into butcher cord was a disaster and marked the lean years when my cousins had to leave Crofton House and take public transit.

In your own case, in Richmond, British Columbia, less than five pots is a hobbyist, more than five pots a grow-op.

Edited October 14, 2005 by jamiemaw (log)

[bigdaddy]

I find this farmed Salmon debate fasinating. And there are thousands of opinons out there and what seems like very little in the way of facts.

The facts are there...the question is how much will we put up with in the way of ecological damage, etc, to have a cheaper alternative to wild fish?

BC supermarkets are not (yet) required to identify farmed salmon through labelling, but anyone experienced with wild fish can usually see the difference in the flesh.

Inland pens are more ecologically sound than present open-pen practices, but problems still remain with the feed which is made by grinding up fish remains, thereby concentrating the level of harmful chemicals like mercury, pcb's, etc. Farmed fish would be grey in colour if the feed did not contain a "colouring" component as well. Farmers choose the colour they want from a "colour chart" (similar to choosing from "paint chips" at a hardware store!)and that determines how much dye is added to the feed.

Wild fish stocks cannot keep up with world demand, and some form of fish farming is going to take place to fill the void. The product will never be as "good" as wild...but hopefully through science and regulation the industry will eventually create a healthy, sustainable alternative.

Edited October 14, 2005 by bigdaddy (log)

[paul mitchell]

I always love the farmed salmon debate - everyone lists off the enviro problems but seem to forget that farmed salmon is gross - even when the supermarkets try to disguise it by smoking and dyeing it red it's awful.

Kudos for Boston Legal for filming at Craig Murray's Nimmo Bay - Craig is a great guy and has partenered with my resort (Clayoqout Wilderness Resorts) in which we'll offer a Horespower Safari next year - check it out at ww.wildretreat.com - one of the reasons he decided to partner with us is that we've undertaken a $3 million environmental legacy program at our Outpost on Bedwell River - after a century of mining and logging in the area we have mapped the river and are re-building the origional channels and off-channel habitat for salmon - when I left the resort two weeks ago we had our first fish just entering our newly built salmon spawning channel - it was awesome.

[Foodie in Vancouver]

Paul - just want to say thank you for taking such a personal role in helping to bring back some of the original "super natural BC". An amazing undertaking which we will all enjoy. Thank you.

[mtigges]

Closed environment farming eliminates in-situ fecal and feed pellet pollution, and the escapement of sea lice into the juvenile wild population. In the case of C, the coho are farmed in Agassiz, an area previously not well known for its coho production.  Coho has a firm, tight texture, removing one of the chief complaints against most farmed product--the mush factor.

←

So then the next question is...where does the "tank" waste go?

←

It is recycled to fertilize Bruce's adjoining wasabi ranch.

←

It would appear he is adding crawfish to the mix. Don Genova has a little blurb on Bruce Swift the farmer in question.

http://pacificpalate.typepad.com/pacific_p...palate__2.html/

[canucklehead]

I heard Don this morning on CBC - intresting story. Apparently - his fish has been all bought out by C and Raincity Grill. I think that I heard that he was raising them to a smaller size for sale. I think Chinese restaurants would go for smaller 'baby' salmon - which would have a finer textured flesh then the big guys.

[christabel]

as a side to this topic - I was recently in San Francisco and noticed that everyone, including the swankiest possible restaurants, were serving Scottish farmed salmon.

I asked lots of questions and all the servers assured me that 'Scottish' farmed salmon is the safest and most ecologicaly sustainable in the world. After some brief internet research I discovered that as recently as two years ago the US had banned Scottish imports of farmed salmon for safety concerns and as recently as December, a US study suggested the consumers should eat no more than 2-4 portions of Scottish salmon a year.

While I can't comment on the validity of that study, it really makes me wonder what consumers and restaurant buyers are thinking. Is it that easy to sell a product, that you simply have to say something is safe and ecologicaly sound and even the most discering buyers will go for it?

Bottom line - in light of this US/Scottish issue, BCers may actually be relatively proactive in at least debating this issue.