Glistening scales and beautiful red salmon meat have always been marketed by social media. Particularly, from fish farmers, who must appetizingly advertise their products. But what is the reason behind this heavy, worldwide marketing?
Wild fish, especially salmon, are known to be exactly as the media makes society believe farmed fish are, or at least decently accurate compared to the envisioned marketed product. But farm-raised fish? To mimic the dark red color of wild salmon, studies from Time Magazine show that farmers fill their salmon feed with color-altering chemicals, essentially painting the white flesh of farm-raised salmon to the pinker color desired. And their efforts are not in vain either, as customers pay up to a dollar more for darker salmon. Since seventy percent of America’s salmon consumption comes from farm-raised salmon, these large fishing industries turn a profit, which may not appear in smaller samples as the color-inducing compounds, the carotenoids, are extremely expensive. Moreover, carotenoids also serve another purpose, as they can be found in the diet of wild salmon through algae and provide nutrients for the fish.
Because of this very issue, it has been reported that farmers use just enough to increase the nutrition in their products instead of focusing their efforts on color, as that would be extremely expensive, yet even with a relatively small amount, the slightly darker colored salmon appears to do the job, pleasing consumers around the globe.
However, added nutrients and compounds are not the only problem with farm fishing. Raising massive amounts of fish in cramped spaces has led to widespread disease and parasites, often deforming fish. If customers could see the fish they would eat, many farm-raised salmon would go untouched. Additionally, the excess feces leads to a bloom in nitrogen and phosphorous, causing algae to grow. In turn, the decaying plant life depletes the ocean and waterways of their oxygen, killing off other plant or animal species.
While buying wild-caught fish poses a new set of concerns, it has been proven to be much better for both us and the salmon we eat. Reducing the malnourished and diseased fish we consume, along with feces and extra food pellets, will significantly help ocean life and other aquatic creatures thrive. Returning the world’s beauty to its former glory, to a time before overgrazing, overfishing, and deforestation, is a massive step, definitely bigger than humanity can take at the moment, but it does not stop us from taking smaller measures. Even if our way of helping the world is by reducing the amount of farm-raised salmon we eat, it still counts. The world is dying, slowly but surely, yet there is still hope. Humanity can still reverse a majority of the damage done, but it will take the people’s help, starting with us.