Wild vs. Farm Raised Salmon

We only serve wild salmon during the salmon season. When writing recipes for various projects I always specify that if using salmon it should be wild. On many occasions I have be asked why is wild salmon superior and is it really worth the money.

Today we received the following information from one of our favorite fish purveyors, Jim at Prime Seafood. Thought this was worth sharing...

Here are 10 reasons to boycott farm-raised salmon:

1. Sea lice -- factory salmon farms are often infested with parasites and spread sea lice to wild salmon and sea trout.
2. Escapes -- a recent scientific paper published by the Royal Society concludes that mass escapes from farms can lead to extinctions in wild salmon.
3. Wastes -- Salmon farms discharge untreated wastes directly into pristine marine waters thereby using the sea as an open sewer.
4. Unsustainable -- far from saving wild fish, salmon farming is a drain on depleted marine resources and is inherently unsustainable.
5. Listeria -- One in ten smoked salmon are contaminated with listeria which can cause meningitis, blood poisoning and still births in pregnant women.
6. Unsanitary and filthy -- the US FDA [Food & Drug Administration] have refused over 200 cases of Irish, Scottish, Chilean and Norwegian salmon for being 'unsanitary' and 'filthy.'
7. Fatty -- Farmed salmon contains more fat than wild salmon (up to ten times fattier in some cases)
8. Chemicals -- Factory farmed salmon are dependent upon a cocktail of toxic chemicals to control diseases and parasites.
9. Artificial colorings -- farmed salmon contain synthetic pink dyes such as Astaxanthin and Canthaxanthin.
10. Cancer-Causing Contaminants -- farmed salmon can contain DDT, chlordane and dioxins and can be up to ten times more contaminated with PCBs [polychlorinated biphenyls] than wild salmon.