What are the advantages of wild caught salmon over farm-raised (if any)?
I’ve always heard that wild caught has a less harmful impact on the environment than farm-raised.
Different sure but they both have environmental impacts, wild salmon is extinct in some places already
Is that due to overfishing or other things such as loss of habitat by obstructing their spawning routes?
ETA: It looks like populations in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest are healthy. Their habitats are protected too. https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/where-are-salmon-most-endangered
Both? The salmon along shipping routes or around them seems to be most at risk but it is also the most accessible https://www.asf.ca/about-atlantic-salmon/state-of-populations The northern salmon populations are healthiest but they are also furthest from population centers. In general, there is still too much atlantic salmon fishing. Canada is still assessing long term strategies for salmon population protection. Edit: we do have quotas/limits on salmon fishing already
Looks like this might be a US vs Canada thing.
I wasn’t aware there was such a thing as wiild caught Atlantic Salmon because in the US
All Atlantic salmon in the public market is cultured and commercially grown.
You are still correct in saying that wild caught can be problematic as well.
It would be only Quebec/NL/LB. Very small amount of salmon compared to the rest of the market, not something you would find in walmart. Conservation groups have been calling for tighter restrictions for years and it might be they’re only giving out licenses to indigenous or recreational/sport atm. In Canada, we have special rules for indigenous that they can basically ignore certain/limits rules on hunting and fishing.
Atlantic salmon (species) is an invasive fish but most commonly farmed. Tastes bland, your standard “safe” menu item in a restaurant (like chicken, but swimmy)
Loch Duart out of Scotland had the absolute best farm raised salmon, super fatty & cery much like wild caught. (you have to weigh in with the environmental impact of air freight though…no bueno)
The best alternative to wild salmon (IMO) is steelhead.
You can also check your choices at the Monterey Bay Seafood Watch guide.
https://www.seafoodwatch.org/recommendations/search?query=%3Afree%3Bsteelhead|species
REGARDLESS of your choice, keep cooking and try everything.
Fish farms… diseased parasite ridden fish, excessive use of chemicals such as formaldehyde to combat said parasitic fish lice, the sludge thats building up at the bottom of the farm location impacting the localised area. Seen on the docu eating our way to extinction. Wild salmon? Never know what they gonna do! They wild lol
The big issue with wild salmon (or wild anything) is of course overfishing. In the end, it’s damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
Actually it depends on where it’s farmed. Norwegian farmed salmon is awful, Scottish farmed salmon is much better (and really hard to get in Europe due to Brxt)
