Is it OK to buy farmed fish?
Fish farming has been promoted by the fishing industry and governments as the solution to ever-decreasing stocks in our oceans. However, in most cases fish farming only makes the problem worse! This is because: i) Wild-caught fish are used for fish meal and oil to feed farmed stocks which increases the pressure on the marine environment rather than reducing it. The fish meal and oils used in fish farming come from fish such as sand eels. Their removal in massive quantities by industrial fishing vessels has a devastating effect on the marine ecosystem. ii) Some breeding stocks are taken from wild populations. iii) Diseases spreads from farmed fish to wild populations making wild populations further depleting their numbers. iv) Water and environments surrounding fish farms are polluted by fish waste, uneaten food and the chemicals, antibiotics and vaccines used to control disease. If buying farmed fish, your first choice should be those certified as organic. Herbivorous farmed fish such
