Offshore aquaculture involves raising high–value fish, such as cobia and cod, in large, often crowded, cages between three and 200 miles from shore. Fish waste, excess fish feed, and chemicals flush straight into the open ocean. These ocean feed lots could threaten human health, wild fish populations, the marine environment, and the economies of local fishing communities.

Pollution

One problem with offshore aquaculture is that untreated waste flows freely out of cages and into the environment. Fish feces and uneaten feed, which can contain nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, phosphate and, sometimes, heavy metals such as mercury, copper, and zinc are emitted directly into the ocean water.^11,12 This waste can reduce the oxygen levels in the sea floor and smother fish eggs and other small organisms living on the bottom.^13,14

For example, a 2006 study of a Hawaiian offshore aquaculture operation found that waste from fish cages in deep open ocean waters had “grossly polluted” the sea floor and “severely depressed” marine life at some sampling sites very close to the fish cages.¹⁵ It also found that, over the course of 23 months, these effects had also spread to sites 80 meters away.¹⁶ A 2007 study of offshore aquaculture operations in the Mediterranean Sea, at depths of about 50 to 90 feet amidst swift currents, found significant accumulation of feces and uneaten feed underneath the cages.¹⁷

Escaped Fish

The escape of fish from ocean fish farms is another chronic problem with open ocean aquaculture. For example, in 2005, about 167,000 cod and 50,000 halibut escaped from open water farms in Norway.¹⁸  The majority of the escapes were caused by cage failure or collisions between boats and cages. The Norwegian Institute of Marine Research noted that, “relative to production figures, the reported 167,000 escapes [of cod] represent a very large percentage.” ¹⁹

When farmed fish escape they compete with wild fish for resources and habitat and introduce disease and parasites.²⁰ Also, fish raised in aquaculture operations are often the offspring of a small number of parents, or broodstock. As a result, they have far less genetic variation than wild fish of the same species. Therefore, if the escaped farmed fish breed with their wild counterparts, they threaten the genetic diversity of wild fish stocks.

Depletion of Wild Fish

The fish species proposed for offshore aquaculture in the United States, such as cobia and cod, are fed large quantities of fishmeal and fish oil to meet their dietary needs. Aquaculture is now the world’s largest user of these products, consuming about half of the world supply of fishmeal and more than 80 percent of the fish oil each year.²¹

These ingredients are derived from small ocean fish such as sardines, anchovies, herring, and menhaden. Removing these fish from the ocean to fatten farmed fish denies food to penguins, whales, and other ocean mammals, and to larger predatory fish and sea birds.

The aquaculture industry increases pressure on fish populations by taking wild fish to feed farmed fish. Under laboratory conditions, about two to six pounds of wild fish are required to produce one pound of farmed fish.²² This is a conservative estimate because there would likely be increased waste and consumption of feed in the open ocean.

Salmon

The case of salmon clearly illustrates the broken U.S. seafood trade policy. Fishermen in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, where fishing forms a strong cultural and economic anchor, have sustainably harvested wild salmon for many years. In 2006, the at–dock value of the Pacific salmon catch was greater than $310 million.²⁵ The fishing industry there supports family businesses that have been fishing for generations. Yet, astoundingly, the corporate fishing trade exported more than 100,000 metric tons of wild salmon and imported about 200,000 metric tons of farmed salmon (product weight),²⁶ much of it from Chile, whose salmon industry has a poor food safety, environmental, and labor rights record. In fact, Chile is the leading exporter of salmon to the United States. (See box, page 6 of Fish Story.)

Wild salmon is highly praised by chefs and fish–lovers alike. Los Angeles chef, fisherman, and restaurateur Michael Cimarusti said, “As a chef, I know that wild salmon swim in a completely different league from farm-raised fish. Whether it comes to texture, taste, or appearance, I’ll choose wild over farm–raised any day.” ²⁷

Unfortunately, in 2006, U.S. consumers had access to less than half of the U.S. wild salmon catch.28 The rest was exported, with a significant portion reaching plates in Europe and Japan.

The question is: If the U.S. government is ostensibly worried about having a safe, domestic supply of seafood, then why is the United States exporting nearly 70 percent of this delicious, healthy, sustainably–caught wild salmon? While Chilean salmon may have a cheaper price tag, that does not include the real costs of unsustainable production and shipping practices, which are paid by U.S. consumers’ health, Chilean workers, and the environment.

Crab

A succulent feast for diners, crabs are an important source of income for Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. In 2006, U.S. crabbers caught more than $250 million worth of dungeness, king, tanner, and snow crabs.⁴³

Unfortunately, the equivalent of nearly 40 percent of the Alaskan crab catch was exported to Japan in 2006.44 Additionally, a surge in the importation of Russian king crab from 2005 to 2006 caused the price paid to U.S. crabbers to plummet from $6.27 per pound to $4.30.⁴⁵

To make matters worse, much of the Russian crab may have been caught illegally in that crab fishermen went over the total allowable catch for the fishery. In September 2007, the Russian police arrested and jailed the chief executive officer of one of the leading exporters of Russian crab, Global Fishing, Inc., for money–laundering and selling illegal crab to the United States.⁴⁶

So, why does the United States export a quarter of its total crab catch and import potentially illegal crab from Russia? Russian crab may cost less to corporate seafood buyers, but U.S. crabbing communities, who are playing by the rules and taking sustainable catch levels, lose an important source of economic stability.

Lobster

American lobster is a staple of New England celebrations and an important part of seaside towns’ culture and economies. In 2006, Maine lobster landings alone totaled close to $300 million.⁵²

“To me, lobster from Maine is local. My version of local has to do with commitment to farmers and the quality of the product,” said Thomas Keller, chef at the French Laundry restaurant in California.⁵³

Yet, despite its importance, 74 percent of the total annual U.S. lobster harvest is exported, including about 3,000 metric tons that goes to Italy.⁵⁴ Meanwhile, we import the same amount (including shells) of spiny lobster, from Brazil.⁵⁵ Yet, the Brazilian spiny lobster fishery is depleted, and stocks continue to decline. It is legal and common to break off the lobster tail on the boat and throw the rest of the body, which is not as valuable, back into the ocean.⁵⁶

Also, the Brazilian lobster fishery, like Russian crab, is plagued by the problem of illegal fishing. The smuggling of under-sized lobster into the United States is a lucrative and dangerous business. From 2004 to2005, four people were killed in the city of Fortaleza, a case that police believed to be connected to the lobster trade.⁵⁷

Chilean Salmon

Chile, a long, narrow country with a coastline as long as the United States is wide, has had a historically abundant supply of seafood that supported the livelihoods of family fishermen. Unfortunately, fishermen and wild fish alike are in danger from the massive salmon farming industry that produces fish for export to the United States and other northern markets. Lax environmental, food safety, and labor regulations have made Chile an attractive investment site for European aquaculture corporations. Some of the salmon companies have even violated the few and weak labor laws that do exist by, among other things, the “persecution of union members” and requiring seven-day workweeks.32 Labor conditions at the farming and processing facilities are difficult, causing chronic injuries among workers.33,34 Inadequate equipment and training led to the deaths of 51 salmon farm workers in Chile since 2005.35 “It seems to me a grave situation when multinationals come here to get rich and don’t worry themselves over basic mat-ters which would avoid the tragedies that have occurred during the last weeks and have put local families in mourning,” said Chilean Parliament member Fidel Espinoza in August 2005.36 The environmental record for these salmon corporations also is troubling. Salmon are not native to Chilean waters, so when the fish escape from their nets, they compete with the smaller local wild fish for food resources.37 If fishermen catch escaped salmon, they are forced to pay a fine. Creative Commons Licensed Flickr Photo Originally uploaded by HRC. Disease is rampant among salmon pens, and aquaculture operators use 75 times more antibiotics than farms in Norway, according to a report by Terram Foundation.38 “The industry has a real sanitary problem that affects the development of the fish and contributes to poor production results,” said Francisco Ariza, a representative from the salmon company Mainstream, a subsidiary of Cermaq.39   In the fall of 2007, an outbreak of Infectious Salmon Anemia spread rapidly, leading operators to slaughter more than one million fish in an attempt to contain the disease.40 This viral fish anemia is similar to influenza that was first discovered in salmon farms in Norway. In response to the outbreak, the company, Marine Harvest, decided to move its operation farther south to waters that have not yet been polluted by salmon farms, a move that could result in the loss of several hundred jobs for Chileans living in the polluted area left behind.41,42 U.S. retailers may prefer Chilean salmon because it is less expensive than wild salmon, but U.S. consumers, Chilean workers and fishermen, and the environment are paying the costs of this irresponsible industry.

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