1. Maranda Thibodeau
English 123
11/10/15
Professor Harris
Fish Farming
Although fish farming is highly profitable, and reduces the consumers’ cost for fish, it
creates environmental problems, and disease, inherent in the process, over shadows the positive
benefits overall. Fish farming is booming and is used a lot in today’s society. More than half of
the seafood people eat is farm raised fish. Fish farming has been a huge debate for many years.
Some scientist say fish farming is a great thing, and others say it is ruining our waters and our
health.
Why do we choose to raise fish in a farming environment? Fish farming is a good use of
our waters. When there is available space to feed our population, then it is wise to use it. By
making fish farming possible you are lowing the cost of fish. Seafood costs are very high at the
moment due to lack of fish available. Seafood is very healthy when eaten frequently. If seafood
costs increase many people are going to be unable to buy it. Fish farming is a good source of
living as it gives our fisherman the opportunity to have a normal life, and more time with their
families. Fisherman can spend days out at sea trying to provide us with fish, and salt water fish
farming can reduce their time away at sea. Fish farming can also provide our fisherman with a
longer time frame to harvest fish. Two beneficial aspects of fish farming for our fisherman is job
security, along with a stable way to earn income.

2. Seafood is one of the most popular food choice all around the world. Fish farming began
due to the low supply of fish over the years. Fish farming can help lower the cost of seafood, and
this is beneficial to the consumer as seafood is a healthy dietary choice. Seafood provides many
key nutrients, and vitamins to the human body. Fish farming can help provide certain areas of
our world with fish, where they do not have access to seafood. The human population is growing
rapidly each year, so the farming of fish may be the best solution to preserve our existing seafood
population.
How would you start a fish farm? Be sure to look to see if there is a fish culture station
near where you live, you may be able to get help from an extension agent. If there is no
extension agent you will need to learn many things by yourself. You will need to know the type
of soil best for your pond, how to dig your pond, how to fill it with water and how to fertilize it.
You will need to know what kind of fish to raise, how to put the baby fish into your pond, what
to feed your fish and how to feed them. You will need to know how to take care of the pond, how
to drain it, how to harvest the fish and how to use your own baby fish to start again. Raising fish
in pens and cages is somewhat different from raising fish in ponds. Your pond must be near a
good supply of water such as a spring, stream, lake or reservoir with plenty of water all year
round. The soil where you build your pond should not be too sandy. Soil with too much sand or
gravel in it will not hold water. (Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, N.D.) There are several
steps you must accomplish in order to be sure you are doing it right. Once you have created your
pond you need to make sure you keep up with it and make sure it stays clean. This can be a great
source of food for larger families who are struggling to buy food.
Unfortunately, the negative aspects of fish farming can outweigh the positive aspects at
times. Sea lice are tiny parasites that occur naturally on many different species of wild fish

3. including wild adult salmon. Sea lice are planktonic and are transported on the tide; they are the
biggest cause for shortages in the salmon population. Salmon is not only a source of food for us,
but for our wild life. Salmon raised on fish farms have a higher mortality rate due to sea lice
contamination. Sea lice is highly contagious, and spreads by the millions. It attached to the flesh
of the fish’s skin, and can eventually kill the fish. Typically adult salmon can survive from
naturally occurring amounts of sea lice, but the higher levels of sea lice present in fish farms will
more likely attach themselves salmon and kill them. By having these farms it increases the high
amounts of lice affecting every fish. As a main purpose of fish farming is to provide us with
healthy food, higher levels of disease is a deterrent to the farming of fish. It is one thing for our
farm raised fish to catch diseases, but it is even worse when they spread it to every other fish in
that area. Several kinds of diseases are harming our fish, but a few stand out the most. Besides
Sea Lice our fish are suffering from the following three diseases: Infectious Salmon Anaemia,
Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis, and Furunculosis. One of the most horrifying diseases is
Infectious Salmon Anaemia. ISA outbreaks are very common in farmed finfish reared in
seawater. The disease has not been seen at the embryo stage, but can affect the fish at any life
stage after hatching. It tends to be a slow moving disease so the death rate may initially be low
and increase over time. This disease spreads rapidly by fin contact, and potentially, every healthy
fish in that batch has a higher possibly to catch this disease. Although this cannot hurt anyone
who eats the fish it is still a horrible thing to put the fish through. To make matters worse there is
not a known treatment for this particular disease at this time. Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis
is an infectious disease that is highly contagious. Both free range and farmed fish have been
reported as seriously affected. Salmon are very likely to get this disease. The mortality rate of
fish catching this disease is very high, but some do survive. The survivors then carry the disease

4. and spread it to all the other fish. This is a huge problem in farming due to the fact of there being
thousands of fish all together. Just as Infectious Salmon Anaemia there is not a cure for this
disease. Furunculosis is very contagious disease that affects all fish. This disease causes high
mortality in fish, with death coming a matter of days after symptoms appearing. The only good
thing about this disease is that it is curable. Fisherman will distribute antibiotics in the water to
help cure the fish’s disease. This will stop the spread of the disease and actually save the fish.
Unlike the other diseases this one can be treated. Disease is a strong deterrent for fish farming.
These diseases may not harm the consumers, but it definitely does not ease my mind next time I
consume seafood.
Fish Farms Pollute the Environment and Damage Local Ecosystems. Antibiotics,
pesticides and other chemicals are commonly used to fight diseases and parasites common to fish
farms. What effect this has on the environment is only beginning to be understood, but it does
not look very good. We are already struggling with pollution due to humans throwing their waste
in the water. It is not good that we are, yet again, causing more pollution due to the farming of
fish. The pollution of water is a serious thing, and people need to become aware of the loss that
will occur. The high concentration of fish feces caused by fish farming, can not only harm coral
reefs, but can change the water itself. Fish waste and uneaten food are polluting the sea floor
beneath these farms. Farmed fish waste promotes algal growth that harms the water's oxygen
content, posing risks to coral reefs and other aquatic life. Pollution needs to be controlled and
cutting down the fish farming business may dilute the issue.
Omega-3 oil from the fish we eat are only 50 percent effective when it comes from farm
raised fish. As many rely on seafood to provide them with this heathy oil they are not getting
what they think when consuming farm raised fish. Eating a farm raised fish is less effective than

5. eating a salmon that was fresh water raised. Along with the omega-3 being weak you also do not
receive the full amount of protein as you normally would. Farm raised fish are also more
fattening than normal freshwater fish. These factors can be a huge problem when it comes to fish
farming. Omega-3 fatty acids in fish are derived from plants (algae, leaves, grass). In wild
salmon, the amount and type of omega-3s found are based on the algae and plankton found in
their diet. In farmed salmon, the omega-3 levels are dependent on what type of feed they eat,
which is made from plants, grains, and fishmeal. Farmed salmon fillets contain as many grams of
omega-3 fatty acids as wild salmon because farmed salmon are fattier than wild salmon. Health
professionals recommend that we increase our intake of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty
acids are essential nutrients for nervous system, heart, and brain health. Fish, especially oily fish
such as salmon, are a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids (Farmed Salmon vs. Wild Salmon. n.d.)
Crowding is a huge problem with fish farming; there are approx. 50,000 Salmon in one
farm. Fish are used to having a lot of room to roam in., and having too many fish close together
is likely to cause problems. Fish have been known to have the ability to feel pain, and have
stress. Imagine being surrounded by thousands of fish compared to having the entire open water.
It is inhumane to keep thousands of fish in a captive area, and killing them in painful ways. Fish
farming could be ok if the fish had more room to live. The purpose of fish farming is fantastic,
but the reality is inhumane and wrong.
I have provided a study done by Dr. Anne-Lise Birch Monsen at the University of
Bergen, which has me thinking twice about supporting farm raised fish. “This article has raised
serious concerns about high levels of contaminants in farm raised fish. The contaminants in
question originate in wild fish, courtesy of environmental pollution. These toxic contaminants
bind to the fat molecules in wild fish, and when these fish are ground up for use in fish meal

6. together with added high-fat fish oils, ultimately these molecules can enter your body where they
bind to your cells. (Monsen, 2015) Some farms have found lead and cadmium in their fish due to
the pollution. I added some of her concerns in this essay to provide evidence on how fish farming
can harm its consumers. Now that I have revealed the negative aspects of fish farming, I have
decided to look into alternatives. A documentary on YouTube called Aquaculture system
promises eco-friendly fish farming future gives an example of how we can turn fish farming
around. I was pleased to watch the video because it has shown the right way to fish farm. These
fisherman hold their farms inside a building. They hold the fish in these giant pools of water.
They have a built-in filter to keep the water clean. This filtering system is keeping the fish alive
and providing us with good seafood. Although the stress of the fish being farmed is going to be
considerably high then those living in the wild, at least they do not have to suffer the pain of
disease. Our Aquaculture system is trying everything they can to make fish farming safer for the
consumers and fish. They are finding ways to get rid of disease, and making the fish feel less
pain. The aquaculture systems agree that fish farming will never go away, but they are
determined to find alternatives. It is comforting to know there is a team out there looking out for
the safety of the fish, and its consumers.
As you are probably shocked about all the facts stated above, I hope this has opened your
mind about fish farming. Although I have acknowledged the positive aspects of fish farming my
eyes have been opened to the negative aspects as well. I am an animal lover, and the way these
fish are treated is inhumane and totally wrong. We will have nothing but farmed fish to choose
from. If this does not get noticed then our seafood will go downhill and there is no stopping it! I
am firmly a true believe in farm fishing being a negative thing occurring in our world. I hope we
can either put a stop to it, or use better alternatives in the future.

7. Bibliography
Drury, J. (2011, July 20.) "Aquaculture System Promises Eco-friendly Fish Farming Future."
YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUrGKVJcd9M
Farmed Salmon vs. Wild Salmon. (n.d.). Retrieved November 17, 2015, from
http://www.doh.wa.gov/CommunityandEnvironment/Food/Fish/FarmedSalmon
Ch06. (n.d.). Retrieved November 17, 2015, retrieved from
http://www.fao.org/docrep/t0581e/T0581E06.htm#5. Outlets to let water out of the pond
Mercola, J. (2013, December 21). "9 Things You Should Know About Farmed Fish." Retrieved
from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/12/21/9-farmed-fish-facts.aspx
Unknown.(n.d.) "Environmental Impacts."FarmedandDangerous.Retrievedfrom
http://www.farmedanddangerous.org/salmon-farming-problems/environmental-impacts/
Unknown.(2014, March 31.) "Prosand Consof FishFarming - HRFnd."HRFnd. Retrieved from
http://healthresearchfunding.org/pros-cons-fish-farming/