Wild Salmon Vs Farm Raised Salmon

When eating fish at a famous restaurant, does it even bother you from where these guys get their fish, which ultimately will be making its way into your stomach. I think not even the tiniest part of your brain will ever get that thought. Well if it was me, I know that my mind would not deviate from the scrumptious meal I was eating. But then, there are a few skeptical beings around us, who like to know everything about every single entity around them. So talking about fish, is there a major difference between a salmon, which is amongst those fish eaten the most in the US, which is caught wild and that between a farm raised salmon?

Differences between Wild Salmon and Farm Raised Salmon

Nothing would be more overwhelming than getting your catch at home (only if you're lucky to get one), and serving it for the meal. Well, I haven't been lucky enough, most of the time. But then for people who do not indulge in fishing, they have got no option but to get one from the fish shop. So is there any difference between the ones which are caught in the wild, to those which are farm-raised.

Nutritional Differences
Well, to let you know about salmon nutrition facts, it's good to know that wild fish are superior to the farm raised fish, both nutritionally and environmentally. Farm fish have more fat, but then when it comes to the beneficial omega 3 essential fatty acids, they are not able to provide enough as compared to the wild fish. Farmed salmon are given antibiotics and pesticides because of the environment in which they are raised. They are exposed to more of concentrated pesticides. In addition to this, to make them look more appetizing as compared to wild salmons, their feed is mixed with salmon-colored dye.

As far as the nutritional differences are, again wild salmon beats farmed salmon. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) statistics has shown that, farmed salmon has 30-35% of fat by weight. The wild salmon has proteins almost 20% more than what farmed salmon has. And also the calories in salmon from the wild have 20% lesser fat content as compared to farmed salmon. Hence, the wild salmon get more points for the difference in nutrition.

Health Risks
As mentioned before, farmed fish are exposed to pesticides and antibiotics. The reason is simple. In open oceans and rivers, the amount of parasites and diseases are scattered and relatively exist in lesser numbers. However in contrast, farm fishing does not involve boundary-less farming. Of course, they get to do it in a limited area to farm the fish in. Hence, to keep various diseases away, they have to make use of pesticides and other substances. Now, the level of these will be concentrated, because it is being put into a small pond or area where the fish are farmed. In most of the aquafarms, fish are given feeds which are mixed with an artificial color inducing substance, to make their flesh look more pink, just like wild salmon. It has now been found out that excess of chemicals in those substances may be harmful for human consumption.

A study revealed that farmed fish contained higher quantities of cancer causing carcinogenic chemical, known as PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls). They are in higher concentration in fish feeds of farmed salmon. The PCBs has been banned in the U.S., but still they are found in the environment, especially in animal fat. As far as health risks are concerned between wild salmon and farm raised ones, wild salmons are less harmful.

Environmental Issues
Apart from these, aqua farm pollutes the environment too. The uneaten fish feed and the fish wastes accumulate at the bottom of the water bed, which lets bacteria throng on them. They happen to consume relatively a higher amount of oxygen which is required by the other fish of the water. The farmed fish are also a threat to wild salmons and that is because, the sea lice from fish farms happens to kill wild salmon, and most of the time their young ones, which move around the farms during migration season or otherwise.

If one had to choose between wild salmon vs farm raised ones, after knowing all about it, I think it would be wise to eat wild salmon. But then, because of the extensive fish farming being done all over, the natural habitat of wild salmons are getting depleted. Hence, there is a need to conserve their habitat and to increase their population.