Food Dish

If you like fish meal as much as I do - however!

The considerable increase in consumer demand for seafood and simultaneous depletion of many populations of wild fish, aquaculture, or fish farming, is now used to produce nearly half the world population seafood.1 In fact, aquaculture is currently the fastest growing sector of global food production, as wild fisheries are being overexploited and poorly managed, aquaculture production is expected to double by 2050.2

Unfortunately, the industrialization of farming has resulted in many of the same problems of human and environmental health at present created by industrial livestock farms. As in the case of industrial livestock production, many of the harmful effects of aquaculture Industrial caused by the merger of a large number of animals in small installations. Besides contaminating aquatic ecosystems, with the enormous volume of waste produced by fish to be limited, aquaculture facilities at risk human health and the environment by releasing harmful substances such as pesticides, antibiotics and other drugs in the aquatic environment. The aquaculture industry operations may also damage wild fish by the introduction of diseases and non-native species in the ocean.

Pollutant emissions from aquaculture facilities

industrial aquaculture in open water fish cages are often limited or netpens, which allow fish waste, uneaten food, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and other contaminants to pass directly into the surrounding water.

Fish feces.
As in the case of cattle manure, when large amounts of fish feces into an aquatic ecosystem, the nutrient levels in the water increase. As described in the Impacts section Environmental, the influx of excess nutrients causing algae growth, and ultimately can lead to eutrophication and the reduction of water biodiversity.3

Uneaten feed
The constant release of uneaten food causes similar problems when food accumulates on the seabed, is the time decomposed by bacteria that consume the oxygen dissolved in water and therefore can create hypoxic "dead zones" below facilities.4 aquaculture, environmental damage caused by fish feces and uneaten food is particularly serious in enclosed waters with low water exchange rates (eg lakes, slow rivers and shallow bays).

Pesticides and Pharmaceuticals.
In an attempt prevent disease and epidemics of parasites, industrial aquaculture operations use large quantities of drugs, pesticides and other chemicals. Despite environmental impacts and human health in many of these substances are not well understood, its use is largely unregulated, the reporting requirements are insufficient, and monitoring is federal inadequate.5 While some chemicals threaten the health of consumers to leave harmful residues in fish, drugs and pesticides can also cause havoc on the environment, since many are toxic to aquatic plants and animals.6, 7 For more information, see Food & Water Watch analysis detailed

The misuse of antibiotics
When thousands of fish are confined in a small space, it is easy for diseases to spread quickly. Often, industrial aquaculture facilities address this problem by using the same irresponsible practices of antibiotics as factory farming, but to reduce the density of fish farms continuously subtherapeutic doses of antibiotics. This promotes the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can infect humans.8 The problem is exacerbated by allowing netpens cages and antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant bacteria to move freely in the surrounding waters.

Escapees and Biodiversity
Aquaculture facilities also threaten natural ecosystems by facilitating the introduction of non-native marine species (or domesticated varieties of native species) in the surrounding environment. As a result of damage Net storms, industrial accidents, and attempts to capture marine mammals farmed fish, many aquaculture facilities release substantial number fish in the environment. For example, the David Suzuki Foundation estimated that in British Columbia, an average of 90,000 salmon escape each year between 1990 and 2000.9

Fish that escape from aquaculture facilities pose a significant threat to the viability of existing wild populations - especially vulnerable populations have already suffered from overfishing and habitat loss. While non-native fish species threaten native populations competing for food and habitat, varieties breeding of native species also pose an environmental threat, after having escaped from the pens, farmed fish can be played with their counterparts wild, with the introduction of genetic breeding the gene pool of wild populations. This can drastically reduce the genetic diversity of species contained in a short period of time.10

Pests and diseases
Despite intensive antibiotics and pesticides, crowded living conditions within aquaculture facilities to encourage the proliferation of parasites and diseases that can spread to wild Marine species.11 The large number of fish in fish farms industry offers a wide hosts for the parasites like sea lice epidemics can decimate to farmed fish, and also affect wild populations - especially where aquaculture facilities are located along migratory routes fish.12

Aquaculture facilities may also introduce viral and bacterial diseases in wild fish populations - the disease can be transmitted by live fish that escape feathers, contaminated equipment, pieces of fish, sea lice, and humans who handle contaminated fish.13 The risk of disease transmission is greater when imported, raw fish used as food. For example, imported sardines fed tuna farm in Australia, is believed to have caused viral outbreaks in 1995 and 1998 that killed 75 percent of the adult wild sardines in southern Australia.14

The depletion of wild fish stocks
Some aquaculture facilities use massive amounts of wild fish, which are processed to create feeding carnivorous fish species such as salmon, trout, tuna, cod, and halibut. For example, experts estimate that 2.7 to 3.5 kilos of wild fish used to produce one pound of farmed salmon 15 to 20 kilos of wild fish consumed to produce one pound of tuna.16 This resource-intensive way of production reduces the stock of small fish such as anchovies, pilchard, sardine and mackerel, which can ultimately disrupt aquatic ecosystems by damaging predators such as large fish, marine mammals, and researchers seabirds.17 are seeking ways to minimize the use of wild fish for food, but not all alternatives are positive. Soy is increasingly used to add protein to feed the fish, a practice that could encourage the industrial production of genetically engineered soya monoculture.

Sustainable Alternatives
Fortunately for seafood lovers, some forms of aquaculture can be done without creating an ecological disaster. Recirculation of farming operations on land are capable of raising fish in closed systems without emitting pollutants into the surrounding environment, many of these fish farms refrain from use of antibiotics, hormones or chemicals. small-scale aquaponics operations raise fish and vegetables or herbs in the same system, using plants to filter waste and use as fertilizer. sustainable aquaculture facilities can also choose to increase fish species as omnivores or herbivores catfish, tilapia and carp to minimize (or eliminate) the use of wild fish for food. Overall, sustainable aquaculture and better management of fisheries wild we can provide a long-term access to shellfish.

Did you know?
In 2002, more than 630,000 salmon escaped from aquaculture facilities in Norway - which is more than the total number of Atlantic salmon produced naturally in the rivers of Norway! 18

In 2005, 51,953 Atlantic salmon escapes from a place in Scotland Cut treated with benzoate / emamectin 22

15 to 20 percent of all feed can pass to the surrounding water is not consumed, creating a substantial flow of waste.19

Currently, Asia is the world leader in aquaculture, representing over 90 percent of total tonnage, while North America produces only 1.6 percent.20

More than 80 percent of the seafood consumed in the United States is imported, and U.S. exports about 70 percent of what is caught or farmed here in the country with the rules higher import that remain in the US2121

For more information:
Food & Water Watch Program fish (www.foodandwaterwatch.org Fish)
Information on open ocean aquaculture, seafood safety, management of the oceans and sustainable solutions for aquaculture.

Aquaculture Network Information Center (ANIC)
Created by the USDA Extension Service, this site provides access to a wide range of resources of national and international aquaculture electronics.

SeaWeb Aquaculture Resources
A comprehensive collection of regularly updated aquatic resources of SeaWeb, a nonprofit organization that works to promote conservation the ocean.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Veterinary Medicine - CVM and Aquaculture
The FDA is responsible for overseeing the use of drugs administered to fish in aquaculture facilities. This site includes documents orientation, sections of the research projects Policy and Procedures Manual, and other information used in support of CVM aquaculture program, and drugs approved for use in aquaculture.

Consumer Seafood Buying Guides:
Gives directions for the selection of cleaning products, green sea, safe. Includes a card to print seafood substitutes sustainable alternatives to popular dishes seafood, a cookbook with recipes from sustainable seafood, and detailed information about why the various types of fish and shellfish are or are not good choices for consumers.

Food and Water Watch
New perspectives for the purchase of fish is safe, sustainable raised. It also includes a restaurant card printing, which can be used to request that your favorite restaurant change in the medium wild seafood.

Sources

1. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Together. The role of aquaculture in sustainable development. FAO September 2007.
2. Medical News Today, "critical sustainable aquaculture feed the world "February 21, 2007.
3. Scottish Association for Marine Science and Napier University. Review and Synthesis of Environmental Impacts aquaculture. Scottish Executive Central Research Unit. 2002.
4. Weber, Michael L. The price of farmed fish: a review of costs environmental and social aspects of farming carnivorous fish. SeaWeb Aquaculture Clearinghouse. 2003.
5. Food & Water Watch. What disgusting! Harmful chemicals and waste from aquaculture. Food and Water Watch. May 2008.
6. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Fish Fish and Hazards & Controls Guidance third edition. Accessed June 2008.
7. Weber, Michael L. The price of fish culture: A review of environmental and social costs of farming carnivorous fish. SeaWeb Aquaculture Center. 2003.
8. Cabello, Felipe C. "The intensive use of prophylactic antibiotics in aquaculture: a growing problem for human and animal health and the environment Environmental Microbiology Vol .. 8, 7. July 2006.
9. David Suzuki Foundation. Farmed salmon escape and risks. 2007.

10. Weber, Michael L. price of farmed fish: a review of environmental and social costs of farming carnivorous fish. SeaWeb Aquaculture Center. 2003.

11. Association Scottish Marine Science and Napier University. Review and synthesis of the environmental impacts of aquaculture. Scotland Central Executive Unit of Investigation. 2002.

12. Weber, Michael L. What Price farmed fish: a review of environmental and social costs of farming carnivorous fish. SeaWeb Aquaculture Center. 2003.

13. Weber, Michael L. The price of farmed fish: a review of environmental and social costs of farming carnivorous fish. SeaWeb Aquaculture Center. 2003.

14. , The World. Aquaculture WWF conservation problems: parasites and diseases. 2008.

15. David Suzuki Foundation. Net Loss of wild fish to produce farmed salmon. Accessed June 2008.

16. SeaWeb Aquaculture Resources. Feed for aquaculture. Accessed June 2008.

17. SeaWeb Aquaculture Resources. Feed for aquaculture. Accessed June 2008.

18. , The World Bank. Organization WWF Conservation problems of aquaculture: Exotic Getaways. 2008.

19. Weber, Michael L. The price of farmed fish: a review of environmental and social costs of farming carnivorous fish. SeaWeb Center Aquaculture. 2003.

20. FAO, "Regional Review on Aquaculture Development / 7. North America - 2005", 2005 ..

21. Calculations by the Food & Water Watch based on data for: "Fisheries of the United States 2007." Office of Science and Technology, National Service Marine Fisheries, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Silver Spring, MD, July 2008. For methodology, contact jwilliams@fwwatch.org
Note that the statistics listed here are based on 2007 data, which is the most current available in synthesized form of the Office of NOAA Fisheries Science and Technology. The statistics more to eat in the U.S. aquaculture production, which are included in these calculations, are taken from the USDA 2006 Census.

22. Summary data reported in the open cage fish farming companies in Scotland network (raw data provided by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) and Scottish Executive)

About the Author

He has a background as civil engineer and geoscientist. He has worked mainly within the oil and gas industry from the mid 1980s. He has written a few fictional novels as well as being the author of some professional litterature within oil and gas sector, he is now an editor of some web sites.