Start Research

Copper from the aquaculture industry pollutes the seabed under and around the plant. There is still ...

Oceans activists are calling for tinned tuna to be banned from hospitals, school canteens, care homes and maternity wards after high concentrations of mercury were found in every sample analysed. By Jane Dalton

What’s the most responsible seafood you can eat? Marine biologist and climate activist Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson breaks it down. First, try to eat low on the food chain—sardines, anchovies and other tiny fish. Certain farmed seafood is also a better choice, like oysters, scallops, mussels, clams and seaweed, all of which live off seawater, nutrients and sunlight. The one to avoid? Atlantic salmon, which is often farmed in pens near coastal bays and can be rampant with toxic waste and insecticides. That’s why it’s so important to buy local, support responsible harvesting and get your seafood from people who are fishing with communities and ecosystems in mind.

A toxic pesticide that causes cancer was used by fish farms nearly 200 times over a three year period, despite fears the chemical could harm the marine environment. By Billy Briggs

A new environmental toxin has been found in farmed salmon in Norway, but for the moment the authorities are keeping an open mind on what action to take because the amounts are so small. By Vince McDonagh

An excerpt from 'The Fish on My Plate' about Norway's salmon crisis. Author and fisherman Paul Greenberg spent a year traveling the world and eating seafood for breakfast, lunch and dinner in an attempt to find out what sort of fish is both good for him -- and good for the planet.

Overabundance of fish farms is a risk to both the marine environment and the economy. By Christos Logaras

Parasitic infections can be occasionally severe in the European marine aquaculture industry, including the Mediterranean region, as they can incur considerable financial losses. Due to the lack of commercial vaccines, therapeutic approaches seem the only measure to battle parasitic outbreaks. Integrated strategies and increased resilience of the hosts, may limit to some degree the level of infestation. Ectoparasitic therapy is traditionally based on baths, with few exceptions. Several antiparasitic compounds have been registered in European aquatic medicine to combat mainly salmon sea lice; however, few of them are readily used against Mediterranean fish parasites. Formalin and less commonly hydrogen peroxide baths are applied against ectoparasites in the Mediterranean region. Most of the registered anti-lice antiparasitics have limited potential perhaps due to their adverse environmental impact. Future therapies against fish parasites will rely mainly on effective substances ensuring consumer, ani- mal, and environmental welfare. Ideally, dietary antiparasitics such as praziquantel exhibiting mild environmental impact and high efficacy against a wide range of patho- gens should be adopted. Moreover, combined strategies such as integrated pest man- agement, involving various management practices with limited use of chemicals, should be a priority for specific parasitic outbreaks. The information presented in this review can guide future research and promote effective and prudent parasite control practices for Mediterranean-farmed fish.

A row over sea life, lice and livelihoods is dividing communities as the government plans to end open-net pen farming in British Columbian waters. By Shannon Waters

The spread of pathogens from farmed salmon is a conservation concern for wild Pacific salmon in British Columbia (BC), Canada. Three pathogens are prevalent in farmed Atlantic salmon in BC, spill over to wild Pacific salmon, and are linked to negative impacts on wild salmon: Piscine orthoreovirus, Tenacibaculum spp., and sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis). Molecular screening of infectious agents in farmed and wild salmon and environmental DNA highlights a further 4 agents that are likely elevated near salmon farms and 37 that co-occur in wild and farmed salmon. Pathogens likely affect wild salmon indirectly by mediating migration, competition, and predation. Current net-pen aquaculture practices pose these risks to numerous populations of all species of wild salmon in BC, most of which are not covered in Government of Canada science and advisory reports. Climate change, pathogen evolution, and changes to disease management and aquaculture regulations will influence future risks. By Martin Krkosek, Andrew W. Bateman, Arthur L. Bass, William S. Bugg, Brendan M. Connors, Christoph M. Deeg, Emiliano Di Cicco, Sean Godwin, Jaime Grimm, Leila Krichel, Gideon Mordecai,Alexandra Morton, Stephanie Peacock, Dylan Shea, Brian Riddell, Kristina M. Miller

Why have Atlantic salmon populations dropped so dramatically in British rivers, and is fish farming a help or hindrance? By Dwayne Oxford

Archipelagos Institute and the Municipality of Patmos have joined forces to strongly oppose the establishment of fish-farms in the seas of Patmos and the surrounding islands and islets. These potentially large scale fish-farms—made possible as a result of the new legislation passed on aquaculture—threaten to damage, if not destroy, the highly diverse and productive coastal ecosystems of the region. Intensive fish-farming—as practiced for the last couple of decades in the Greek seas—has already directly and negatively impacted the health and productivity ofseas in the region, and inevitably causes significant consequences on fisheries and tourism.

Norway is the largest exporter of salmon in the world. And while some of those fish are wild-caught, many are raised in 'fish farms'- large cylindrical pens made of nylon in the open water. Sometimes these farmed fish escape, mixing with the local population and causing ecological issues. We see farmed fish in a Norwegian fjord and hear about potential solutions to the problem. By Rob Schmitz, Greg Dixon

In the small coastal country, an exploding industry has led to big economic promises, and a steep environmental price. By Ian Urbina

Researchers reported about a “desolation scenario” around sea bream and sea bass farms in Western Greece.

Scientists are warning against new legislation to grow Iceland’s fish farming industry, but industry is pressuring for a go-ahead.

Chile’s more than 6,000 kilometers of coastline provides an environment ideal for highly productive fishing and aquaculture activities that directly contribute to national and global food security. The two activities, however, vary radically in their operational needs and have different regulations, leading the Chilean government to plan an update to its existing national fisheries law that currently lumps the two sectors together. The government expects to converse with different stakeholders throughout September, with the ultimate goal of presenting a bill during the fourth quarter of 2023.

Salmon farming has expanded rapidly in the past 25 years into a $20 billion-a-year industry. Farmed salmon are advertised as an environmentally friendly and sustainable solution to the need for animal protein for the world’s growing population. But mass die-offs and other controversies have challenged these claims. By Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins

Chef Dan Barber squares off with a dilemma facing many chefs today: how to keep fish on the menu. With impeccable research and deadpan humor, he chronicles his pursuit of a sustainable fish he could love, and the foodie's honeymoon he's enjoyed since discovering an outrageously delicious fish raised using a revolutionary farming method in Spain.

Open-net fish pens are the perfect breeding grounds for the parasites, which feast on the mucus, skin and flesh of wild salmon, causing infection and even death. But the tools industry has to deal with the legions of sea lice are becoming less effective. By Judith Lavoie