Over the past three decades, people around the world have started to become more and more conscious of what they’re eating, and trying to eat better if not healthier. One of the biggest focuses has been on incorporating leaner proteins like fish, most notably salmon. Over the past three decades, human consumption of seafood has actually begun to drop - except Salmon which is now on the rise due to its status as a healthy alternative.
This has however taken a huge told on wild salmon ecosystems when fishing is not done properly. In response to try and help steer away from harming those ecosystems, humans have created Salmon farms which while seemingly great for those ecosystems, is the fish better or even good for you?
Recent studies are showing that while the farmed fish may be cheaper to operate and mass produce, the fish produced might actually not be that great for you.
Farmed vs Wild
So where are you in the debate of farmed vs wild?
Let’s get you the facts!
The actual definition of each is pretty straight forward, farmed is raised by humans, wild is caught in a natural area.
Here’s the thing, the environment where the salmon grows and matures is completely different and results are completely different. Those different environments have a huge effect on the texture, flavor of the salmon, appearance, and even change how it cooks when being prepared!
Wild Caught Salmon:
- High levels of omega-3 fatty acid (the rare kind)
- The filets will be thinner and leaner filets
- They will appear darker in color, likely with a deeper red-pink color, much less orange
- You’ll find fewer and smaller fat striations, the white stripes visible in the flesh
- More difficult to find in grocery stores, less common on restaurant menus
Farm-Raised Salmon:
- High levels of omega-6 fatty acid not so great because it's abundant in our daily diet
- Contains high levels of antibiotics
- Usually feed pelt feed made from grin and fish parts
- High in saturated fats
- Often these are thicker and fattier filets, and lighter in color, seeming pink-orange
- Much more visible and wider fat striations, that are thicker or deeper in the flesh
- Usually what you see in grocery stores and eating at restaurants
Understanding “Wild” Salmon
The label ‘wild-caught’ refers to fish caught in their natural environments by fishermen. This means they grow up in wild habitats like oceans, lakes, rivers. Here, these fish have plenty of room to swim and grow. This also means a lifetime of long-distance swimming, and because of this they tend to be leaner, and less fatty with an abundance of healthy fats than farm-raised fish. Along with this, wild-caught fish have access to a much more diverse natural diet, in turn making them some of the healthiest eaters on the planet!
Wild fish feed on smaller organisms in their environment, sometimes even smaller fish and krill. That might seem odd, however, it’s actually beneficial. Most of those small organisms like krill eat algae, which is an incredible source of omega-3 fatty acids. In doing so, those superfood nutrients travel up the food chain, into the larger wild-caught fish that we eventually eat. Along with this, these fish consume lots of different food sources in their environment, with different nutrients making them a rich source of essential minerals and vitamins.
Remember how we were mentioning the color of the salmon flesh earlier? This is a direct correlation to what the fish is eating, generally, the deeper the red color in salmon means it’s been eating more red-orange krill!
Understanding “Farm-Raised” Salmon
Fish raised in aquaculture or “fish farm” are known as a “farm raised” fish. This might seem strange as Salmon are thought to be saltwater fish, however, wild salmon, are hatch in fresh water, migrate to the ocean, and then return to freshwater to reproduce. With farm-raised fish, this does not take place. Fish raised here will live their entire life inside enclosed pens in bodies of water. Sometimes these are submerged in lakes, ponds, or even areas in the ocean. Recent advancements have created actual aquacultures in large tanks on land.
Sadly, most of these fish pens are usually quite small and also very crowded, which is why farm-raised fish are usually fattier. The fish have no room to move or swim around to burn off any of the fat. What’s worse is that overcrowding can lead to problems like toxic contaminants and pollutants accumulating in pens, and sometimes diseases spreading among the fish. Basically, sometimes the fish are simply swimming in their own waste. To counteract this often the fish are fed antibiotics to keep them free of diseases!
Of course, every aquaculture is different—some are cleaner and more sustainable than others. While some countries (including the U.S. and Canada) have enforced somewhat stricter fish farming regulations, it still does not solve the problem.
One of the biggest differences in farm-raised is their less-nutritious and less-diverse diet. This is what completely changes their appearance and texture. unfortunately, most farm-raised fish eat a highly-processed, high-fat diet. Usually, this can consist of feed made of corn, grains, fish oil, and fish meal - Yes, ground-up fish!. This is obviously not a very natural or diverse diet for fish but rather designed to fatten fish up as quickly as possible, and for the lowest cost available.
One of the things that the average consumer does not know is that salmon eating these horrible non-natural diets actually results in the fish having a natural greyish color since they aren’t eating the red-orange krill. To make up for this, fish farmers now usually add a red dye to the food they feed the fish in order to get them to look like their wild free-swimming relatives!
Confused? Which do I pick?
Don’t worry, you’re not the first one to wonder if one is better than the other. While farmed fish seems like a good idea, the result usually isn’t what is expected when you pull the curtain back. Wild-caught fish are considered to be a higher-quality, cleaner, and safer choice to eat.
Currently, around one-third of wild fish populations have been overfished, and two-thirds are fully-fished. The good news is that there are environmentally friendly sustainable fishing companies. What does that mean? It means that fishing companies work with scientists and researchers to plot multiple different areas of where to fish, and when. In doing so they make sure those ecosystems are not overfished, making sure the population can grow back for future generations.