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[Rodney]

Although many may think aquaculture may take away commercial pressure on the wild fish stock to achieve sustainability, that is not necessary the case. Think of this scenario.

Unlike the Asianic world, most of the western farmed fish are carnivorous species like salmon and steelhead. Carnivorous species has a higher trophic value (top of the food chain). To ensure the operation is profitable, you decrease the growth time to reach the optimal harvest size. This means, lots and lots of food. Where does this food come from? From the wild of course. The demand of food eventually drains out the wild stock's prey population. This can possibly pose as a bigger negative impact than a properly managed commercial harvest. On top of that, biological pollution poses a threat to the wild.

Hard to sum up such a big topic in a small paragraph. If anyone wants to find out more, I can send you the references.

[The Gilly]

Nester, look at the "white" between the "pink".  A wild fish has VERY little fat.  A farmed fish has a thick white line (fat) between every strip of muscle (pink).  Wild fish have almost no fat.  
Farned fish - 1/32"-1/16" of white or fat.
Wild Fish - Inperceptable - 1/64" of fat.
Easiest way to tell.
It's a little like looking at the pics of ThickRick campared to me.  He's wild and I'm farmed

[Rodney]

That too, but I think herring and other baitfish are also used. I'll have to look it up in the journals again to get back to you on that one.

[BirdNester]

THanks for the info Otto. Here's a question, with today's technologies, how hard would it be to emulate a real environment to farm the fish in?
RobertO

[leadbelly]

thats not really the question though Roberto, the main issue seems to be the un or self regulated aquaculturalists laying wast to the nearby ocean and flooding the migrating juvinile salmon with sea lice.And to do it on shore is just too costly though i think its being done on a small scale on the island and being sold at a higher price but people seem to be willing to pay Always ask if its wild or farmed, there was a web site that listed outlets that do/ dont sell farmed somewere.Or catch it yourself

[Rodney]

Ecologically sounding, for sure. But economically.... possibly. A closed system would be pricy, maybe they can incorporate daily farm tours for tourists into it.

[BirdNester]

Ahh ok, the ole Environmental Cost vs. Monetary Cost issue. I see now.
RobertO

[otto]

seeing as the fish farms pay divers a commercial rate to dive and fix the nets, i think that if the pens were on land they would save a freeking fortune in diver costs. an old coworker works on a farm up north and gets a ridiculous wage just to shoot the seals that hover around the pens.

[Fishbreath]

I say give it ten years, with all the greed and pressure on the wild stocks the pacific coast will go the way of the Atlantic and we'll all be eating farmed fish.  And I'll bet FN will change their tune about farmed salmon and will want a peice of the action just like all the natural resources in Canada.

[Fish Assassin]

The farmed fish have little plow marks from when the field is tilled.

Wild fish won't do any tricks, nor can you get them to eat from your hand.

Too tempting.  

 

[Koho]

And to top it off - folks should also realize that most farmed salmon are Atlantic.  Of course, the name implies that they are not even native to the Pacific waters.

Good point.  

[newsman]

Sea-lice are the social disease (maybe AIDS is a better word) of the fish farm industery. We are told lie after lie by both level of government and the fish farmers regarding these paracites. Normally these little bugs fall of Salmon and die when Salmon retyurn to fresh water. With fish farms these bugs have a constant supply of host fish which allows populations to explode year round. The result is clouds of sea-lice that smolts must swim through on their way out to sea. Most don't make it, since fish can only tolarate three sea-lice per gram of weight. In short many if not most of our Salmon and Steelhead are being bled-out before they make it passed the fish farms in the estuaries.

I have long maintained that most of our missing Steelhead have fallen prey to sea-lice. The Summer Steelhead I caught last week proved it, baring scares from sea-lice preditation.

[fishin_chick]

heres a thought.  last year, most of my fish had sea lice on them.  actually i think almost all of them did.  This year, i havent.  does that mean that only the ones that are not being infested with sealice are making it up?  maybe the ones without, are the only ones smart enough to not end up in fn nets! ;Da  but seriously, anyone else notice that there are less sealice this year?

[newsman]

Last year I caught six Chum on the Stave with gills full of sea-lice. I mean they had gills littery crawling with lice. I have seen lice on the back end of fish many times, but nothing like I saw in the gills of those poor fish. I mentioned it to the DFO hatchery staff netting broods, and they told me that was normal. BUll$%^&.

[Mabelingwane]

It could also be the fish that have been in the fresh water for a while. As I understand, the lice fall off after a few days in the fresh.