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Canadian farmed seafood is hormone free, and has the lowest use of antibiotics in Canada’s agriculture industry.

As recent news stories indicate, a US retailer is moving away from selling farmed salmon. Unfortunately, this wrong-headed decision will not result in healthier product choices for consumers, who have a right to know that Canada’s proud salmon farming industry abides by some of the strictest environmental and food safety standards in the world.

Our farmed salmon is rich in vitamins and minerals, low in saturated fats, and one of the best sources of heart-healthy Omega-3 fatty acids. The American Heart Association and Health Canada both advise eating two servings of fish every week – either wild or farmed – and a Harvard study revealed that even modest consumption of farmed salmon could reduce the risk of death from coronary heart disease by 36 percent.

When it comes to the health of our oceans, the retailer’s decision will not have a positive environmental impact. According to the United Nations, global demand for seafood is forecast to grow 50 percent by 2030, and aquaculture production must double to keep pace with that demand. Grown in pristine waters and available fresh year-round, our farmed salmon is an affordable, high quality protein that takes pressure off over-fished wild stocks.

The facts are clear: farmed salmon makes sense for your health, pocket-book, and our planet.

Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance

Ruth Salmon, Executive Director

Bus Phone: 250-951-9866

Cell Phone: 250-701-1431

email: ruth.salmon@aquaculture.ca

We need a federal Aquaculture Act.

Submitted January 11, 2010

RE: Is farm-raised salmon as healthy as wild?

In responding to a reader’s concerns about the health attributes of eating farmed vs. wild salmon, Dr. Melina correctly points out the American Heart Association recommends eating oily fish (such as salmon) at least twice a week.

Unfortunately, Dr. Melina quotes the Environmental Working Group, which sensationally alleges farmed salmon are “polluted with toxic PCB chemicals, awash in excrement flushed out to sea and infused with antibiotics.” While trace amounts of PCBs are present in the most common foods we eat, the good news is that PCB levels in both wild and farmed salmon are well below the 2,000 parts per billion safety threshold set by both the US Food and Drug Administration and Canadian Food Inspection Agency. To put the issue into perspective, PCB levels in beef are about eight times higher. Salmon farms can only be sited in areas where water currents provide optimal conditions for fish health and environmental sustainability. Salmon smolts (babies) are often individually vaccinated, which greatly reduces the incidence of disease in the net pens – and results in a reduced use of antibiotics.  In fact, farmed salmon commonly grow to maturity without any use of antibiotics during their lives. Antibiotic use on salmon farms is now far lower than that of any other agricultural animal producing industry in the world.

Misguided opposition to farmed salmon will sadly scare people away from this healthy, affordable and delicious protein that helps take the pressure off our depleted oceans.

Ruth Salmon
Executive Director
Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance
www.Aquaculture.ca