Sustainable fish farms
if governments were not subsidizing fish farms, all of them would collapse from the expense. finding a new 'everymans' fish is the ticket. the overfishing of the atlantic cod, the last everymans fish, means we need to look else where. i would suggest you give talipa a shot, sustainable, land based pond raising, white meat, season how you like it best. salmon are a money losing proposition and a fish that will become a delicacy on the table, not an everyday food item.
Agreed. Not only subsidized by government but open net pens are heavily subsidized by environmental externalities.
From Seachoice Guide to Sustainable Fisheries: (emphasis mine)
Important factors for sustainable farmed seafood, or aquaculture, are using production methods that do not harm wild fish or damage ecosystems,
choosing
species that are low on the food chain so they add more seafood to the food supply than they use, and ensuring management and regulations are eff ective. The criteria
SeaChoice looks at are:
1 Marine resources used in fish feed. Sustainable use of marine resources means we want to be adding more fish and seafood to the global food
supply through aquaculture than we’re using in aquaculture feeds.
Farming fish like salmon and tuna uses up more wild fish in their feeds
than farmed fish produced. For example, farmed tuna can use up to 20 kilograms of wild fish per kilogram produced. Shellfish and fish raised on
plant-based diets are better choices.
2 Risk of escapes. Fish farming systems need to be able to keep their stocks under control. Net pen systems directly in oceans or lakes are vulnerable to
incidents where farmed fish escape; once in the wild they can inter-breed with wild stocks or compete for food, spawning habitat, and other resources.
3 Disease and parasite transfer to wild stocks. Net pens and other systems that discharge untreated waste cannot prevent the transfer
of diseases and parasites to wild stocks. Lethal impacts on wild fish are well documented and this is of particular concern when the health of affected
wild fish stocks are already poor.
4 Risk of pollution and other habitat effects. Net pens and other systems that discharge untreated waste can pollute the surrounding ecosystem, harming marine
and freshwater habitats. Siting aquaculture operations away from sensitive or ecologically important habitats is also important.
5 Effectiveness of management. Many types of aquaculture are relatively new, especially on the current scale of production. Ensuring the regulations and management structures necessary to effectively control risks to ecosystems and wild species is essential for addressing sustainability concerns.
Read more:
http://www.livingoceans.org/sites/d...a_s_In-depth_Guide_to_Sustainable_Seafood.pdf
Reviewing the criteria 1 - 5 it's clear that open net pen fish farming, as conducted in B.C., gets a sustainability fail on all accounts.