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Salmon Scarcity
By Diana Fred
Wild Salmon Leaving the Farm Behind
Demand for salmon, fueled by low fish-farm prices and driven by health-conscious consumers, is stripping markets at a time when wild Chinook salmon is in short supply.
In June the National Marine Fisheries Service halted the commercial salmon season along the Northern California Coast because of the small fraction of adults returning to coastal rivers. Last year the region yielded 7.3 million pounds of Chinook valued at $12 million dollars. This year that number will be zero.
The result is higher prices for the West Coast’s premier commercial species. Prices of $2.15 per pound for farm-raised fish had doubled at the start of summer. Accounting for inflation, the $5.50-a-pound that buyers were paying in June for large Oregon Chinook would have been the equivalent of $3.33 a pound in 1987 – a time when wild salmon prices peaked.
“It means I actually expect to do reasonably well this year,” fisherman Scott Boley told the Associated Press. Boley has a fish market in Gold Beach, Ore., where in May he was retailing Chinook filets for $9.60 a pound.
Chinook in California’s Bay Area markets was $14.65. Observers expect prices to stay strong all summer. Some suppliers predict retail prices could hit $17 per pound.
Two years ago, Chinook dipped below $1-apound due to the glut of farmed salmon. Consumption rose as consumers developed an appetite for the fish.
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In 2002, when asked what salmon they would choose at the grocery or a restaurant, 29 percent said wild salmon, 26 percent farmed salmon, and 35 percent had no preference, according to the survey done by Riley Research Associates of Portland. This year, 58 percent preferred wild salmon, and 10 percent preferred farmed.
Replacing these supplies with farmed Atlantic salmon is not an option, according to Jeremy McKenna of Wildberries natural food store in Arcata, Calif.. “We stopped using farmed fish over a year ago,” he says.
This once popular retail option has gotten bad press recently following studies that show alarming amounts of PCB’s, dioxins and contaminants found in the fish, McKenna explains. In January, the journal Science published a major study that found increased levels of cancer-causing PCBs in farmed fish over wild fish.
Oregon is considered local, which is an important consideration for buyers like Mark McCulloch of Mr. Fish Seafood. “I want to support the local fishermen, not those in Chile or B.C. (British Columbia),” he says.
Alaska’s salmon production remains strong. Fisheries there tend to be family-run operations and the state’s varied fishing seasons help maintain wild salmon supplies. Furthermore, there are a variety of salmon species to choose from. While Chinook represent 60 percent of the world’s supply, retailers should also consider pink, chum, sockeye and steelhead which are smaller in stature, but not in quality. These other species afford the health savvy, organic minded consumer an opportunity to become a salmon connoisseur. Retailers may benefit by providing salmon recipes that address the different fat content and texture of these varieties.
Salmon face many challenges in the wild, the greatest of which is spawning.With many salmon rivers dammed and water flows diverted, leaving fewer areas to spawn. Low water levels, and runoff from towns and agriculture make it hard for the young to survive, if spawning happens at all. High temperatures and low water levels further lead to increased levels of disease, and lowered immune systems which allow parasites to weaken and kill fish. If a salmon survives the arduous journey back to the ocean, the aquaculture or fish farm sites at the estuaries (or river openings) are rife with parasites and diseases just waiting for new blood.
Fisheries biologists from the California Department of Fish and Game blame parasites for low numbers of returning salmon. California’s ban will let more salmon head up river and thus have a higher chance of survival.
Another way to feed the demand for fresh salmon is organic standards for fish.Wild salmon cannot be certified organic according to the FDA standards, but farmed fish can earn that designation.
Farms such as Creative Salmon Company in Tofino, B.C. raise a local variety of wild Chinook instead of Atlantic salmon. They practice farming without the use of antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, anti-fouling substances or dyes. They screen their feed for PCB’s and combine it with organic grain.
Recently, however, salmon that were fraudulently labeled as organic found their way to fish markets and restaurants, which further muddied the waters. Aquaculture operations now have a rather tarnished image. They need to clean up their act and provide the skeptical consumer with high quality fish.
A court ruling in 2002 required grocery stores to label farmed fish as containing dye to turn the flesh pink. Next fall, Federal law requires stores to label fish with the country they come from. These are positive measures. As is a new task force, the Aquaculture Working Group, that operates under the National Organic Program’s Aquatic Animals Division.
Wild salmon prices are a force of nature and politics. Even with the strongest of runs, weather and chance make the salmon market a fluctuating beast. The optimum solution is to encourage sustainable practices to maintain a healthy salmon population in the wild.
Diana Fred is a fisheries technician who manages salmon habitat for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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The Monterey Aquarium Seafood Watch lists farmed salmon as something to AVOID. Recent reports from the University of Indiana warn of the dangers of farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Levels of PCB's are at least 10 percent higher than in wild salmon, with increased dioxins, use of dyes, antibiotics and hormones. The flesh of farmed salmon is described as fatter and less textured than that of the wild, with lower Omega-3 content.
Mark McCullough of Eureka, California's Mr. Fish Seafood doesn't use the "F" word in his establishment. Farmed fish are controversial and the negative publicity makes them harder to sell. McCullough feels better selling wild fish, and likes the flavor, texture and color of the wild salmon.
Aquaculture also impacts the wild salmon with exposure to deadly sea lice. Farms are widely infested and their location near coastal areas makes it easy for lice to attack the wild salmon migrating close to the nets on their traditional route. When the vulnerable salmon fry pass the nets, they are often infected and die. Excess feed and chemicals used to clean the nets are also evident in the surrounding ecosystem.
The Bush administration supports a bill to expand the area of ocean aquaculture 200 miles from shore. The farms will be moved away from migratory routes, but the bill does not take into consideration the many environmental concerns caused by the farms. Closed system farms, environmentally friendly practices and keeping them separate from wild stocks are all necessary to minimize the impacts of fish farms.
To learn what fish to eat visit the aquarium website.
- Diana Fred |
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