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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

Aquaculture has become a booming industry in Chile, with salmon and other fish farmed in floating enclosures along the South Pacific coast. But as farmers densely pack these pens to meet demand, diseases can easily pass between fish.

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.

The salmon farming industry in British Columbia has invested heavily in vessels to deliver various treatments for salmon lice to their farmed stock. This report examines their performance to date and the implications for wild salmon.

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

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

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

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

A new study says that the impact of aquaculture on wild fishes* is 'greater than commonly cited,' further undermining the widely held belief that it can be part of a sustainable food system. By Liam Pritchett

Despite the seafood industry’s claims, eating fish may not be as healthy or sustainable as consumers have been led to believe.

In 2023, the RAI Committee agreed to undertake a follow-up inquiry into salmon farming at the earliest opportunity and this inquiry commenced in April 2024. The RAI Committee's inquiry focused on the implementation of the main recommendations made by the REC Committee, spread across four key themes:

• fish health and welfare;
• environmental impacts;
• interactions between wild and farmed salmon; and
• salmon farm consents and planning.

A definitive source for unfiltered documentation of the environmental and welfare impacts of industrial salmon farming, providing free, high-quality visual evidence to journalists, researchers, and advocacy groups working to expose the true cost of farmed salmon.

A look into farmed Salmon and Asian Panga.

UN agency says aquaculture boom will boost food security but critics say it harms fragile marine ecosystems.

Today, wild salmon are an endangered species, gone from most rivers in the U.S. There are many culprits, from polluted waterways and habitat destruction to overfishing and climate change. In the last 20 years, however, a new threat has emerged: floating feedlots on the ocean known as open-net salmon farms. The $20-billion-a-year farmed salmon industry is the world’s fastest growing food producer, and it has made farmed Atlantic salmon the most popular fish on dinner tables North America. But at what cost? By Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins

We review literature on the displacement paradox and the Jevons paradox, with consideration of their implications for the potential effects of aquaculture on wild fisheries. The Jevons paradox refers to circumstances where improvements in the efficiency of resource use lead to growth in consumption and therefore undermine conservation. The displacement paradox refers to circumstances where increasing use of a potential substitute for a resource (e.g., farmed fish) does not lead to proportionate reduction in consumption of the other resource (e.g., wild fish). The literature on the displacement paradox and the Jevons paradox suggests that there may be unanticipated consequences from the rise of aquaculture that may be detrimental for fisheries conservation. Here, we present theoretical explanations, drawing on the tragedy of the commodity, for understanding the tendencies for these technological paradoxes to occur and emphasize their relevance for concerns associated with fisheries and aquaculture systems. By Spencer Roberts, Jennifer Jacquet, Patricia Majluf, Matthew N. Hayek

It’s delicious, nutritious and versatile – but increasingly one of the most controversial foods you can put on your plate, finds Clare Finney

The salmon farming industry presents itself as a sustainable solution to feeding humanity in a warming world. But as learned on a recent trip to Chilean Patagonia, intensive aquaculture practices can produce large negative environmental effects. By Jessica McKenzie

Agribusiness giants and other corporate interests are pushing to expand industrial finfish aquaculture into U.S. federal waters, arguing that it will help feed a growing global demand for seafood and have less environmental impact. They want Congress to pass legislation establishing a federal aquaculture system. Though Congress has not yet acted, a 2020 Executive Order is favorable to the effort. Environmental advocates are fighting against proposed congressional bills, and calling for a reversal of the executive order and a stop to the proposed projects in U.S. federal waters.