By Alyson Lundstrom
(Originally publish for ZeroMe)
So can farmed fish be a sustainable solution to feed our planet?
Fish as a food commodity creates considerably less environmental impact when compared to red meat, pork, or chicken, but our wild fish stocks can’t keep up with consumption. In addition, climate change has created acidification of our oceans, and a population that is challenging our earth’s carrying capacity is promoting overfishing, which is depleting our resources. So can farmed fish be a sustainable solution to feed our planet?
Our planet’s population is growing, and with it, our need to feed almost 8 billion mouths. The goal to create a good life for all within planetary boundaries requires us to promote foods that will create the lightest carbon footprint. The answers are imperfect, and trade-offs must be accepted to arrive at the best solution.
The subject is complicated, with economic, social, and environmental impacts all needing to be examined. So let’s break down the benefits, disadvantages, and sum impact of using farmed fish to support our booming world population.
The Benefits of Farmed Fish As a Sustainable Solution
From a dietician's standpoint, fish might be one of the healthiest proteins on earth. Fish are packed with essential micronutrients such as Vitamin D and Omega-3 Fatty acids. From an environmental perspective, farmed fish's carbon emissions are generally lower than land-reared animals because they don’t require the expansive land use, freshwater, or large grain stocks needed to produce an end product. Amplifying fish production can certainly be part of the answer to feeding our world’s population more sustainably.
Farmed fish tick many of the sustainability boxes which we highlight below.
Stable Supply
With the acidification of our oceans and rising temperatures leading to oxygen drops, scientists project we may have no real fish population at all by 2048. Farmed fish currently provides over half of the world population's fish supply. As a result, some experts feel that aquaculture can be the answer to giving reliable food security to a rapidly growing population.
Elimination of Bycatch Waste
Farming fish reduces wasteful bycatch created from the inefficient fishing gear used in the wild. Nets used in wild fishing can have extensive reach beyond their target fish species causing population declines and impeding efforts to repopulate other marine animals and fish.
Reduces Habitat Destruction
Bottom trawling habits by the wild-caught fishing industry employ heavy nets, large metal doors, and chains that drag across the ocean floor. This not only results in unnecessary bycatch but can cause irreparable damage to the ocean environment.
In addition, pollution from discarded nets and fishing gear used in trawling operations accounts for a startling 50% of ocean plastic pollution.
Job Potential
Well-managed Aquaculture can create a wave of “Blue Growth.” At one point, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimated that fisheries and aquaculture supported the livelihood of 10-12% of the world’s population. Moreover, bringing the economy towards farmed fishing would prevent the exploitation of slave labor used on wild-caught fishing boats that go unchecked.
The Disadvantages of Relying on Farmed Fish For Food
Farmed fishing can have a lower impact than other food sources like red meat, pork, or chicken, but not always. For example, certain species, such as farmed salmon, can leave a more significant carbon footprint than poultry due to the need for fish feed and fuel use. In addition, when you add in cold chain travel on airplanes, the emissions are further exacerbated.
Fish farming has some improvements to be considered a fully sustainable option for the future of food.
Contamination of Wild Stocks
Ill-managed fish farms can result in overcrowded pens, creating festering disease and parasite booms. These bacterial and viral diseases are easily passed through open ocean pens to wild stock contaminating them as well.
Water Pollution
Pesticides and antibiotics are used to treat farmed fish to prevent and manage disease, which then leaches into the ocean. In addition, overcrowded pens create high concentrations of waste. Pollution can damage surrounding ecosystems when waterways around the farmed fish pens become stagnant.
Farmed Fish Eat Wild Fish
Many of the fish species bred in fish farming are predatory and require their own Omega-3 fatty acids in their diet, which come from other fish. This means that wild-caught fish are needed to feed the farmed fish. In turn, this has caused stocks like anchovy to be overfished in places like Peru.
In addition, those fish who don’t require fish feed instead require the growth of high protein vegetable crops on the land, which come with their own environmental impact. This creates competition for human food resources, a pain point that needs to be addressed before farmed fish can be deemed a sustainable solution.
The Sum Impact of Farmed Fishing
The sum impact of continuing to develop farmed fish as a sustainable solution is more positive than negative. Both farmed fish and wild-caught fish leave an environmental footprint, albeit different ones.
The overall picture of the future of food within the aquaculture industry is still a cloudy one. Only time will tell if innovations can mitigate the negatives of farmed fish. Farmed fish can be a workable solution but will require consumers to do their due diligence in researching options and higher standards upheld for fisheries management.
As consumers, we can start by making the most sustainable choices for our plates. The Monterey Bay Seafood Watch provides one of the most comprehensive guides to sustainable seafood buying, which details how it was caught or farmed and how the environment was impacted. They also provide a guide for businesses to transition into more sustainable seafood choices.
Best sustainable seafood options:
Farmed Chinook Salmon
Farmed Clams
Farmed Whiteleg Shrimp
Farmed Tilapia
Farmed Arctic Char
FArmed Mussels
Wild Caught Lionfish
Wild Caught Albacore Tuna
Wild Caught Pacific Cod
Wild Caught Rockfish
The bottom line: if you eat seafood, do it in moderation, and do it sustainably armed with knowledge.
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