Fish farming emerged in the early 1970s. Over the past four decades, there has been a steady increase in aquaculture. In 2009, the fish farming business surpassed the wild catch fish stock. In other words, more than 40 percent of all fish consumed are raised on land-based or ocean-based aqua farms. Fish farms, like animal farms, face similar issues of overcrowding, suffering before being slaughtered, unnecessary injury, disease, and premature death.
Overcrowding
Overcrowding is a serious issue in fish farming. According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, some fish farms have as many as 50,000 fish crammed in a small enclosure. To help visualize this fact, the article describes how a 2.5-foot salmon may spend its lifetime in a space the size of a bathtub or as many as 27 full-grown trout within that same space. As a result, many of these fish exhibit signs of high anxiety and stress resulting in injuries.
Diseases
Diseases such as parasites, infections, lice and blindness are common in fish farms. Consequently, antibiotics are added to the ponds to prevent these diseases. Unfortunately, these drugs eventually flow back to the sea and contribute to the growth of drug-resistant strains not only among open water fish but farmed fish as well.
Mad Fish
Many farmed fish are fed with food pellets made of ruminant materials, in an effort to mass-produce top-chain fish such as cod, tuna and salmon in a short time frame. An article in the December 2008 issue of "Journal of Alzheimer's Disease" explains that the concern is that farm fish may transmit infectious prions from cows to humans. The article reveals that prion protein was found in certain fish. Scientists are still trying to determine if Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, or BSE, is transmissible from animals such as cows to fish.
Responsible Consumers
Most individuals do not think about where their fish meal comes from. Consumers are not only responsible for their own health and safety but the health and safety of the creatures we share this planet with. Consumers can demand that the fish they eat are not only treated humanely, but most important, are nutritious rather than a health hazard.
You can be a responsible consumer by purchasing your meal from a local vendor and supporting small fisheries. Let your state representative know about your concerns about how these large aquafarms are contributing to the destruction of our planet.
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