For many years, environmental organizations have been urging people to chose "wild" salmon over farmed. For example, the David Suzuki Foundation distributed a brochure titled, "Why You Shouldn't Eat Farmed Salmon."
The problem here is that the David Suzuki Foundation and other environmental groups are giving consumers a false choice. The choice isn't really between farmed vs. "wild" salmon because there are actually three types of salmon, not two. There's wild, farmed, and ranched.
In North America, about 95 percent of "wild" salmon is Alaskan. Promoting "wild" salmon is tantamount to promoting Alaskan salmon - though much of it originates in B.C. waters. When the David Suzuki Foundation and other environmental groups urge us to eat "wild" salmon, in essence what they are telling Canadians is to eat American salmon.
Alaska's Largest Crop: Ranched Salmon
In 2010, nearly half (49 percent) of Alaskan "wild" salmon was actually hatched in a plastic tray. These salmon are not wild. These salmon are born in a bucket, fed pellets, grown in a tank, and raised in a net pen for up to half of their lives before they are put into the wild. In essence, Alaska is using the Pacific Ocean as a salmon ranch.
"Don't ever refer to it as farming - but home grown fishes are the Alaska's largest agricultural crop. Instead, call it 'ocean ranching.' That's what Laine Welch told her radio audience a few years ago. Laine is a well-known Alaskan broadcaster.
Just because Alaska doesn't call it farming doesn't mean that Alaska isn't growing salmon. In fact, Alaska actually grows more than twice as many salmon as British Columbia.
If Alaska didn't ranch salmon, the 2010 salmon harvest would have been only 78 million fish, not 169 million. The ex-vessel value of the 2010 harvest in Alaska would have been only $366 million, not $534 million.
In 2000, salmon ranching increased the ex-vessel value of Alaskan commercial fisheries by a whopping $168 million. Not only that, hatchery-born salmon also accounted for an estimated 270,125 of the so-called "wild" salmon caught in sport fisheries. This shows just how important aquaculture is to the Alaskan commercial salmon fishing industry, and the sport fishing industries.
Unless we are prepared to settle for substantially less salmon for sport fisheries and for food, growing salmon is a necessity. The question that we should be asking is what is the best way to grow them in each unique ecosystem: Alaska's salmon ranching, or B.C.'s salmon farming?
For the annual report of the Alaska Salmon Enhancement ("Ranching") Program, click here.
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