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[lovethewater]

Have any of you guys seen these ads that are popping up on TV over the last couple of days?  Ridiculous.  The Fish Farmers (salmon) have come out with a campaign with a tag line of 'don't believe everything you hear'.

There are a couple different versions out but the most recent one has two dudes standing around talking about how they are going to be rich  because someone emailed them saying they would get a bunch of money if they pony up some cash to help complete the paperwork.  It is the classic Nigerian bank scam email that was popular a few years back.  After these morons 'high five' each other the words 'don't believe everything you hear' scroll across the screen along with the Salmon farming tag.

Its frustrating because they do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to hint at what we are not supposed to believe, or why we shouldn't believe what we hear about the salmon farms.  Personally this bunk makes me believe what I hear about the salmon farms even more, and it really irritates me that they can get away with this sort of pin head advertising campaign.  They are essentially turning the problem of farms and what they do to our wild salmon populations into a joke that can be laughed off. 

Like we are supposed to draw the conclusion that if the Nigerian bank scheme was fake, then so is the volumes of information about the damage fish farms are causing up and down the coast to our wild salmon populations?

People will believe this message, and that's the annoying part.

Rant over...

[troutbreath]

The fishfarmers will spend more money putting a spin on their filthy business than improving it. Just like the cigarette companies did.

[aquapaloosa]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8jFop1vftY

http://www.youtube.com/user/BCSalmonFacts#p/u/13/86rCXZETiNY

  If you are not aware of the massive amount of misinformation that has been presented by various anit-salmon farming campaigns over the last 10 years then you clearly need to check the facts.

The following are just not true:

Salmon farms use hormones

Salmon farms are dead zones

Salmon farms are heavily medicated

Salmon farm fish are dyed.

Salmon Farm fish are high in PCPs

Many more facts a www.bcsalmonfacts.ca/

  These are just some of the basic facts.   The current  problem with the anti-salmon farming campaign these days is that so much of their knee jerk misinformation that has been promoted over the  years has been clearly de-bunk so when your out there stating your opinion about salmon farms and you have the basic facts wrong,  well people that are in the know and others just think that your crazy so I encourage you to touch up on the issue in the now.  

[troutbreath]

http://www.thatsfit.ca/2010/08/23/organic-farmed-fish-contain-antibiotics-and-isnt-cruelty-free/

aquapaloosa your having side affects. Cut back and detox.

[alwaysfishn]

  If you are not aware of the massive amount of misinformation that has been presented by various anit-salmon farming campaigns over the last 10 years then you clearly need to check the facts.

The following are just not true:

Salmon farms use hormones

Salmon farms are dead zones

Salmon farms are heavily medicated

Salmon farm fish are dyed.

Salmon Farm fish are high in PCPs

Many more facts a www.bcsalmonfacts.ca/

  These are just some of the basic facts.   The current  problem with the anti-salmon farming campaign these days is that so much of their knee jerk misinformation that has been promoted over the  years has been clearly de-bunk so when your out there stating your opinion about salmon farms and you have the basic facts wrong,  well people that are in the know and others just think that your crazy so I encourage you to touch up on the issue in the now.   

It's also important to be aware that the "facts" shown above are made up by the salmon farming industry. Determine the "true facts" for yourself by reading reports put out by sources that are unrelated to the fish farming industry......

Here's a start.....   

"A just-released study commissioned by the Pew Foundation measured levels of organic contaminants in 700 fish (about two metric tons), purchased from wholesalers and retailers in large cities in North America and Europe. Whole, raw, farmed salmon, farmed salmon fillets, and whole wild fish (representing five species of Pacific salmon) were tested. Fourteen chemicals were studied, including toxins such as PCBs, dioxins, dieldrin and toxaphene - all fat-soluble compounds that tend to accumulate in the fat of ocean fish.

The general findings are shocking: the expert commission found that the total organic contaminants were consistently and significantly more concentrated in the farmed salmon as a group than in wild salmon. This includes dioxins and PCBs - both believed to increase the risk of certain cancers and to be harmful to the developing brains of fetuses and infants of women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. The average dioxin level in farm-raised salmon was 11 times higher than in wild salmon, and the average PCB levels were 36.6 parts per billion (ppb) in farm-raised salmon, versus 4.75 ppb in wild salmon. The study also connected the levels of contaminants to location: farmed salmon from Europe were more contaminated than fish from North or South America. The most contaminated farmed samples came from Scotland and the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic, and the least contaminated farmed samples came from Chile and Washington State in the U.S. However even the least-contaminated farmed salmon still had significantly higher contaminant levels than wild salmon.

The reason for the higher contaminant levels in farmed salmon is due to the feed given to them - a fish meal composed of ground fish and fish oil from only a few species of ocean fish. These species accumulate the toxins in run-offs from agriculture and industry that wind up in oceans. With a limited variety of fish to eat, farmed salmon are exposed to higher concentrations of contaminants than wild salmon, which eat a more varied diet. Researchers say it would be possible to develop oil-rich feed for farmed salmon that was free of toxic contaminants.
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Based on this information, the researchers involved in this study recommend limiting consumption of farmed salmon to one-half to one meal total per month. Bottom line: I agree. Until salmon farmers clean up their acts, stick to wild Alaskan salmon (which I still strongly recommend), sardines or distilled fish oil supplements for your omega-3 fatty acids.

Andrew Weil, M.D."

And as is usually the case there is often truth in every lie...... 

...  Farmed salmon is not dyed....    "In salmon aquaculture, the industry endeavors to mimic the diet that salmon would normally get in the wild, so it supplements salmon feed with a synthetic replacement. It's called astaxanthin, and chemically, it's identical to the pigment that salmon get in the wild."

“Due to the feedlot conditions of aquafarming, farm-raised fish are doused with antibiotics and exposed to more concentrated pesticides than their wild kin,” reports Mateljan. He adds that farmed salmon are given astaxanthin in their feed “without which their flesh would be an unappetizing grey color.

Some aquaculture proponents claim that fish farming eases pressure on wild fish populations, but most ocean advocates disagree. To wit, one National Academy of Sciences study found that sea lice from fish farming operations killed up to 95 percent of juvenile wild salmon migrating past them. And two other studies—one in western Canada and the other in England—found that farmed salmon accumulate more cancer-causing PCBs and dioxins than wild salmon due to pesticides circulating in the ocean that get absorbed by the sardines, anchovies and other fish that are ground up as feed for the fish farms. A recent survey of U.S. grocery stores found that farmed salmon typically contains 16 times the PCBs found in wild salmon; other studies in Canada, Ireland and Great Britain reached similar conclusions.

Another problem with fish farms is the liberal use of drugs and antibiotics to control bacterial outbreaks and parasites. These primarily synthetic chemicals spread out into marine ecosystems just from drifting in the water column as well as from fish feces. In addition, millions of farmed fish escape fish farms every year around the world and mix into wild populations, spreading contaminants and disease accordingly."

[aquapaloosa]

There is no organic standard for farmed salmon.  The article clearly is not aware of the facts and you can post and post and post such claims and the truth is there are problems in every type of farming in the world.

 Try this,  search on the internet  "problems with  ___________ farming".   Pick your favorite food or vegetable or organic item any you will be astonished.  Crap I even searched wind farming and was suprized and how bad that is!   

[aquapaloosa]

I will not participate in a cut and past debate.  Its old, the point is there has been a massive missinforming of the public and if you choose to be in that group the decision is yours.  The truth is out there.

[troutbreath]

"The article clearly is not aware of the facts"


Thankfully your there to point that out.

[DragonSpeed]

You know, it's funny - when I first saw the Ad and missed exactly who it was that was the "sponsor" I thougth it was an ANTI-Farming Ad.  It ABSOLUTELY works both ways to say "Don't believe everything you hear/read"  Strangely it indirectly implies that you shouldn't believe what you hear from them either.... Crappy ad, but funny.

[marmot]

Talk to people who work in the industry, read reports both pro and con, and form your own opinion based on your own values and/or dietary concerns.

I don't bother getting worked up over obvious propaganda, it comes from both sides of the debate and is easy to spot.  What is more troubling to me are biased studies...that ALSO come from both sides.

These farms operate on a curve as far as how responsible they are to health and environmental concerns.  There are some that are very good and actually care about the product they are putting out and the damage they do to the environment, there are some that obviously don't.  There are some that will fight change tooth and nail, there are some that will try to innovate. 

I am really hoping that the open water/closed containment system being installed by Agrimarine is a success... if viable it may force some changes that could change the industry for the better.  It may however also put some of the smaller outfits that are probably operating pretty good shows right now out of business, which would suck.  Startup costs on the closed containment facilities are really high.

[jon5hill]

What do the "biased studies" conducted by "Anti Farming Groups" gain by presenting biased information?

Why would a scientist openly lie about something when the results reduce massive revenue. Often we see it the other way, where "biased studies" support something and the result is a massive increase in revenue. But can you explain why these people would go out of their way to study ecosystems, conduct field sampling and experiments, run statistical analysis and read tons and tons of literature when the result is going to actually remove money from the corporate sphere.

I'm curious to know what you think motivates these clearly biased studies.

[marmot]

What do the "biased studies" conducted by "Anti Farming Groups" gain by presenting biased information?

Why would a scientist openly lie about something when the results reduce massive revenue. Often we see it the other way, where "biased studies" support something and the result is a massive increase in revenue. But can you explain why these people would go out of their way to study ecosystems, conduct field sampling and experiments, run statistical analysis and read tons and tons of literature when the result is going to actually remove money from the corporate sphere.

I'm curious to know what you think motivates these clearly biased studies.

Who said that scientists are openly lying?

An open lie is different than a study conducted or interpreted with bias.  Sampling methods, models of analysis etc. can all have built in bias that may skew results.  On the interpretation end, the language used and extrapolations made from data often exhibit bias. 

I think the way aquaculture is being run right now it poses some serious risks, and I'm really hoping that Agrimarines closed pen system works and that the company can keep their financials in check long enough to prove its viability. 

As for the ad campaign, it is a very smart one.  Nobody likes being lied to, I think this is the angle they are playing to the public.  It's too bad people may watch it and buy into it "wholesale" without getting information on their own to make an informed decision.  Like that would ever happen...

[Dave]

Slightly off topic, but why do farmed fish taste like nothing. I mean the word "bland" would actually be excessive. 

How come?

  Uh, maybe the way you are cooking them??  The only difference I notice is farmed Atlantics have a softer texture than fresh, unfrozen wild Pacifics. 

[alwaysfishn]

Slightly off topic, but why do farmed fish taste like nothing. I mean the word "bland" would actually be excessive. 

How come?

If you cover them with lot's of hot sauce, I'm sure that will eliminate the blandness.....  

It's all in what they are eating. There is a huge difference in feed lot fed beef versus free range beef.

[k.c.]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8jFop1vftY

http://www.youtube.com/user/BCSalmonFacts#p/u/13/86rCXZETiNY

  If you are not aware of the massive amount of misinformation that has been presented by various anit-salmon farming campaigns over the last 10 years then you clearly need to check the facts.

The following are just not true:

Salmon farms use hormones




Salmon farms are dead zones

Salmon farms are heavily medicated

Salmon farm fish are dyed.

Salmon Farm fish are high in PCPs

Many more facts a www.bcsalmonfacts.ca/

  These are just some of the basic facts.   The current  problem with the anti-salmon farming campaign these days is that so much of their knee jerk misinformation that has been promoted over the  years has been clearly de-bunk so when your out there stating your opinion about salmon farms and you have the basic facts wrong,  well people that are in the know and others just think that your crazy so I encourage you to touch up on the issue in the now.  

i think this is a bunch of bull cupcakes