I knew a couple of guys who worked on Salmon farms and that’s why I don’t eat Scottish salmon
As someone who works in the industry, but who is in no way illusioned about the controversies of fish farming, I will say that there is a managed and directed movement against it that isn’t always objective.
For example the article stating that 25% of farmed salmon die in the pen is just wrong. Yes it’s true that sometimes, through uncontrollable environmental factors such as plankton/jellyfish blooms or transmissible disease that you can reach mortality rates of 25% but that would constitute a completely failed harvest more than likely making a net loss for the business and, as you can see, the salmon farming business is very profitable. The true acceptable mortality rate is between 1-10%.
Yes, still, comparing it to cows in a field for example would seem appalling. But it’s simply the nature of fish and the sea. Imagine if cows were subject to fogs of stinging nettle that settles in their lungs and doesn’t clear up for days, that’s what fish have to deal with and it kills the wild ones just as it does the farmed ones.
Now it’s true that it’s atrocious for the environment, though not nearly as bad as cow farming. And it’s true that the fish are not in a natural happy space, though not even close to as bad as chicken farming. Yet it seems to gets a lot more attention from the public. Now I’m not going to suggest because it’s not *as bad* as other horrible things that it makes it ok, but it does give some perspective. The truth is, **ALL** intensive farming of livestock is unethical and we should really join together as a race and put a stop to all of it.
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I can’t see it happening though, the SNP minister in charge was taking but not declaring hospitality from the industry.
https://www.thescottishfarmer.co.uk/news/24823258.snp-minister-mairi-gougeon-facing-ministerial-probe/
I knew a couple of guys who worked on Salmon farms and that’s why I don’t eat Scottish salmon
As someone who works in the industry, but who is in no way illusioned about the controversies of fish farming, I will say that there is a managed and directed movement against it that isn’t always objective.
For example the article stating that 25% of farmed salmon die in the pen is just wrong. Yes it’s true that sometimes, through uncontrollable environmental factors such as plankton/jellyfish blooms or transmissible disease that you can reach mortality rates of 25% but that would constitute a completely failed harvest more than likely making a net loss for the business and, as you can see, the salmon farming business is very profitable. The true acceptable mortality rate is between 1-10%.
Yes, still, comparing it to cows in a field for example would seem appalling. But it’s simply the nature of fish and the sea. Imagine if cows were subject to fogs of stinging nettle that settles in their lungs and doesn’t clear up for days, that’s what fish have to deal with and it kills the wild ones just as it does the farmed ones.
Now it’s true that it’s atrocious for the environment, though not nearly as bad as cow farming. And it’s true that the fish are not in a natural happy space, though not even close to as bad as chicken farming. Yet it seems to gets a lot more attention from the public. Now I’m not going to suggest because it’s not *as bad* as other horrible things that it makes it ok, but it does give some perspective. The truth is, **ALL** intensive farming of livestock is unethical and we should really join together as a race and put a stop to all of it.
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