The hidden side of farmed salmon

Farmed salmon are fed on pellets made from small fish oil, crushed chicken feathers and poultry litter, which the vast majority of consumers surely ignore.

The International Year of Aquaculture and Artisanal Fisheries will kick off in January 2022, setting the stage for discussions on salmon, one of the world’s largest aquaculture productions. By some estimates, over 80% of the salmon consumed worldwide comes from commercial farming.

A recent survey conducted by Dalhousie University looked at the consumption of salmon in Canada. The objective of this report was to better understand Canadians’ perceptions of salmon production methods and what they know about them.

The investigation was divided into two distinct sections. The first dealt with consumption habits and preferences and the second dealt with husbandry methods.

In total, 79% of Canadians eat salmon, with 10% who eat it every week.

When asked why they don’t eat salmon, the most common reason Canadians give relates to taste. While 42% responded that taste is the reason they don’t eat salmon, 30% said it’s mostly because they don’t eat any kind of fish. Price is a problem for 11% of Canadians. The result is still surprising, since the prices at the seafood counter have always been high.

Finally, 5% of Canadians do not buy salmon because of the presence of chemicals or parasites. The methods used in the sector have always been a bit disturbing. Moreover, some reports suggest that the majority of farmed salmon are fed on pellets made from small fish oil, crushed chicken feathers and poultry litter. Yep, manure. The vast majority of consumers surely ignore it.

The second section presented data on how Canadians support certain production methods. When asked whether they prefer wild or farmed salmon, 49% of Canadians say they prefer wild salmon, but 42% have no preference. When asked why they prefer wild salmon, the answers vary. In total, 62% want to eat a product raised in a natural habitat, while 37% believe that wild salmon reduces the risk of contamination, 29% believe that wild salmon is more nutritious, although recent research suggests otherwise. About 23% of Canadians prefer wild salmon because they consider this method of production to be more sustainable.

Land or sea farming

The differences cited between production on land and production at sea were also of interest. While 21% of Canadians prefer to eat salmon from land-based farming, a total of 39% prefer sea-farming. Gen Z have more strong opinions on this issue. While 33% of Gen Z participants prefer land-based farming, 46% support offshore farming. Millennials support 44% offshore salmon farming. Only 12% of the baby boomer generation approve of salmon farming on land, and 36% of the same group supports offshore farming. Support for offshore farming is significantly stronger in all groups.

These results show that 50% of people surveyed seem to misunderstand the meaning of farming on land and farming at sea.

This contradicts a report recently commissioned by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada which suggested that consumers had a preference for farming on land because they were also willing to pay higher prices. Nothing is less clear.

All in all, we need to examine all options on the basis of their scientific merit before pushing industry to adopt one production method over another. Most importantly, consumers need to know more about aquaculture and farming methods. For example, we are currently selling GM salmon without labeling and hardly anyone is aware of it.

Hopefully 2022 will push Fisheries and Oceans Canada to do more to better educate the public on the realities of farmed salmon and aquaculture in general.

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