Why your “Atlantic” salmon may come from Idaho
Seafood, altough largely untold, has seen a massive restructuring of its industry in recent years. The times in which fishermen caught your dinnerare long gone, and the times of trawlers in the Atlantic are almost gone, unless you are paying a premium for it. Most of the fish consumed today originates from coastal farms.
The global annual fish consumption has risen since the 1960s from an average of 22 lbs per person to almost 44 lbs in 2012. Keeping in mind that the population has also more than doubled at the same time, makes the total amount even larger. Sub-Saharan Africa lends itself as a representative example for global consumption projections. The rate is set to decline at an annual rate of 1 percent to 5.6 kg between 2010 and 2030, due to the estimated population growth of 2.3% p.a. during the said period, the total fish demand would still grow by about 30% until 2030 according to a UN FAO report. Similar to my opening argument, the base population grows while the per capita consumption slightly decreases.
To meet global demand, the industry has established different production methods to provide the demanded fish supply that traditional open water fishing cannot sustain.
Acquaculture
Across coastal lines from Chile to Panama, Scotland to Norway, Thailand to China, large stationary nets have been cast. These nets float in the ocean, fjords and rivers and house vast populations of fish from seabass, to salmon to cobia. According to this UN FAO report, aquaculture will supply more than half of global fish by 2030. Therefore the two variants of aquaculture, coastal and open water, are contributing substantial amounts to the global fish supply.
The fact that cultured fish market share will only increase by 3 million tonnes within the coming 20 years, yet captured fish volumes will grow by almost 50%, does not lead anyone to believe that fish populations are bound to recover.
Coastal Farmed Fish
China is now the largest producer of fish globally, and 75% of it comes from the Ningde region. China is also the only country that produces more seafood from farms than it consumes and accounts for a total of 2/3 of global production.
Open sea farming
Along with coastal water farms, there are also deepwater aquacultures. In the US, deepwater would take place in federal waters that are between 3 and 200 miles offshore. While in the United States, agencies such as NOAA and the EPA are still in the process of allowing such farms in US waters, in Panama and Mexico, such farms are already in operation.
Among the concerns is the escape of fish, overfeeding, and overpopulation, as it has been the case in coastal farms in Norway and Chile.
The inland pendant to open water farms are, you guessed right, inland fish farms, referred to as RAS.
Recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS)
This method uses tanks in which the fish are farmed indoors. The most advanced of these facilities use a closed cycle system to guarantee environmental responsibility.
Such a system is, for example, operated by Superior Fresh. Its aquaponics RAS system produces Atlantic salmon and steelhead trout and uses the fish waste to fertilize its leafy greens.
Almost 500,000 MT of salmon is consumed annually in the U.S. market, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service.
This represents a massive opportunity, not just for innovators, but a set up of a competitive domestic market. The Danish company Atlantic Sapphire is a direct competitor to Superior Fresh and is building a plant that could produce up to 220,000 MT annually.
Your next Atlantic salmon may therefore very well be from Wisconsin. RAS will provide a lower carbon footprint than your flown in coastal farmed salmon from Chile, in addition to being a cleaner protein product that as a result is better for consumers.
The fishing industry has to charter the course towards more sustainable waters to preserve fish populations, coastal environments, and carbon emissions resulting from transportation. It is not a method that can be adopted everywhere, but for markets such as the United States, it represents a viable, profitable, and sustainable alternative to meet future demands.
If you want to read some more on this topic, here are some articles
