It is still hard for me to believe that some on this board still support fish farms. And this is way down on my reasons to dislike them.

Here is the link: http://www.startribune.com/stories/484/4309047.html


Farm-raised salmon higher in contaminants than wild salmon, study finds
Eric Pianin, Washington Post

Published January 9, 2004

Farm-raised salmon, a growing staple of U.S. diets, contains significantly higher concentrations of PCBs, dioxin and other cancer-causing contaminants than salmon caught in the wild and should be eaten infrequently, according to a study of commercial fish sold in North America, South America and Europe.

The study, using Environmental Protection Agency health guidelines, concluded that while consumers could safely eat four to eight meals of wild salmon a month, consumption of more than one 8-ounce portion of farmed salmon a month in most cases poses an "unacceptable cancer risk." People in Washington, D.C., New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle should not eat farmed salmon more than once or twice a month, the study advises.

The two-year study was paid for by the Pew Charitable Trust and published Thursday in the journal Science.

Officials of the Food and Drug Administration and the fishing industry took issue with the findings. They said the contaminant levels in salmon have declined by 90 percent since the 1970s and the remaining "trace levels" do not warrant consumers denying themselves the high protein and cardiovascular benefits of eating salmon.

"We've looked at the levels found . . . and they do not represent a health concern," said Terry Troxell, director of the FDA's Office of Plant and Dairy Food and Beverages. "In the end our advice is not to alter consumption of farmed or wild salmon."

The salmon farming industry points out that all the pollutant levels are well within the FDA's legal limits and says other foods eaten more often, such as beef, are bigger sources of exposure.

On average, farmed salmon has concentrations of health-threatening contaminants 10 times greater than those found in wild salmon, according to the study.

Farmed fish contain higher concentrations of contaminants than wild fish largely because they are fed a meal that consists of ground-up fish tainted with the contaminants, while wild salmon feed on smaller fish and tiny aquatic organisms.

Removing the skin and grilling salmon removes a significant amount of stored PCBs, dioxins and other pollutants, the FDA noted.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.