The Benefits Of Aquaculture

Commercial, or industrial, fisheries handle the catching, processing, and selling of wild fish. Aquaculture, or fish farming, is the controlled cultivation of certain marine plants and animals such as fish and seaweed. These two industries are relevant to the environment because both impact our oceans immensely. They can cause fish populations to severely decline or pollute our oceans. This begs the question, should we continue to support commercial fishing or move more towards aquaculture? Fishing has been around for thousands of years and the technology used to fish has improved significantly. For example, “employing improved and [now there are] larger ships, more sophisticated fishing equipment, and various food preservation methods.” (Purrington

People believe aquaculture can circumvent the toxins found in wild-caught fish, but “studies have repeatedly shown that farmed salmon has significantly higher levels of PCB's [(polychlorinated biphenyls)] and PBDE's (another environmental toxin) than wild-caught salmon.” (Ryan). Ryan claims that “the problems with wild-caught fish are fundamentally problems with our oceans. Decades of relatively-unchecked environmental pollution have left our oceans dangerously polluted by a number of toxic industrial byproducts.” (Ryan) The reason why they are not as edible as before is because of the pollution humans have made. He also gives advice on how you can choose safe wild-caught fish. He suggests to look at the fish’s trophic level, size, and which ocean it came from. “Fish caught in the Atlantic Ocean generally show higher levels of PCB's and mercury than Pacific fish (although this is not always the case).” (Ryan). In the article “Which Is Better: Wild-Caught or Farmed Fish?”, by Lea Basch, Basch also acknowledges that eating wild fish has its downsides, but overall claims, “wild-caught fish are often healthier, with less contamination from man-made toxins because they feed on a natural diet of smaller fish and algae and come into contact with less bacteria

That results in the creation of pollution that can impact our ocean severely. “Feed, fish excrement, medication, and chemicals released into the ocean can affect wild fish, other species, and ocean habitats.” (Schier). Along with pollution, maintaining a pen for aquaculture can raise the risk of fish escapes. “The peer-reviewed scientific literature documents the harmful effects of the accidental release of farmed fish (escapes) on wild fish populations... impacts include reduced genetic diversity, the spread of disease, increased competition for food and habitat, increased predation, habitat alteration, and colonization.” (Schier). In the article, “Spill of farmed Atlantic salmon near San Juan Islands much bigger than first estimates” by Lynda V. Mapes, Mapes further explains the controversy of the escape of non-native farm raised salmon into the wild, after a pen had broke on August 19th, 2017, causing hundreds of thousands of farm raised salmon to make their way into the ocean. Mapes cites Larry Altose, an agency spokesman, saying “the Washington Department of Ecology considers the escaped fish a pollutant.”