Why did the State of Alaska ban finfish farms?
Finfish farming was banned in Alaskan waters in 1989. The intent was to preserve wild fish stocks and to protect the commercial fishing industry. Aquaculture is a positive growing segment of the world’s food production system. However, it is not without its problems. The farm sites, particularly with salmon, become highly polluted with large amounts of fish bred and raised in relatively small areas. Because of overcrowding, diseases are easily contracted and rapidly spread, including to wild salmon swimming nearby. In addition, some farmed fish manage to escape into the wild. Some have theorized that the voracious, fast growing farmed salmon may prove to be the dominant species in a habitat and out compete wild salmon to the point of extinction. This concern is amplified under the premise that farmed fish were not selected for breeding purposes, which, in the long run, could lead to eventual extinction of the supplanted farmed fish. These environmental issues run counter to Alaska’s Co
