The groundbreaking study, "A Global Assessment of Organic Contaminants in Farmed vs. Wild Salmon: Geographical Differences and Health Risks" was released January 2004 in the respected journal Science. The study, which is being considered the most thorough analysis of farmed and wild salmon to date, found in most cases that consuming more than one serving of farmed salmon per month could pose unacceptable cancer risks, according to United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards for determining safe fish consumption levels. Farmed salmon were found to have up to 10 times higher levels of PCBs and dioxins than wild salmon

Farmed salmon is much higher in saturated fats than wild salmon. This can contribute to health problems.

A single serving of salmon, wild or farmed, gives you the suggested daily requirement of omega 3 fatty acids. These essential fatty acids are also found in other wild fish like tuna, sardines or anchovies. Farmed salmon, however, contains more unhealthy fats. Preliminary research also shows that farmed salmon has higher levels of PCBs and other contaminants than wild salmon.

Farmed salmon are frequently fed antibiotics which contribute to the growth of drug-resistant bacteria

Farmed salmon are often given additives in their food to colour their flesh pink with chemicals to resemble its wild counterparts - otherwise, it would remain an unappetizing grayish-brown color

In BC, over 70% of farmed salmon are Atlantic salmon. Atlantic salmon are considered exotic (non-native, or alien) species in Pacific waters since they do not naturally occur in the Pacific Ocean.

With only a very few exceptions, farmed salmon are raised in open net cages in the ocean. These nets can tear, allowing farmed salmon to escape into the wild. Over a million farmed salmon have been reported by the industry to have escaped into Pacific waters since 1988; because many escapes over the years have gone unreported, experts believe the real figure is much higher.

Atlantic salmon have been found in 78 BC rivers and streams, but only a small portion of our rivers have been surveyed so far - meaning non-native Atlantic salmon could be inhabiting many more.

Atlantic salmon compete with wild salmon for habitat and have been known to eat wild salmon fry and eggs. Atlantic salmon have been found spawning, and juveniles surviving in the wild.

There are risks even when native Pacific salmon escape into the wild. Escaped farmed chinook can interbreed with wild chinook. Since farmed salmon are cultivated from a limited gene pool, this interbreeding leads to "genetic dilution", or a narrowing of the genetic makeup in wild fish - which could lessen their ability to survive in the wild

Open netcage systems can allow for the transfer of disease and parasites from farms to wild salmon.
- Click here to link to Watershed Watch report

Salmon farmers are granted licenses to kill predators such as sea lions and seals to stop them eating their fish. In the spring of 2001 a mass grave containing at least 15 sea lions killed by a farm operator was discovered in Clayoquot Sound. Since then, more pits of dead sea lions have been found in the same area. BC salmon farmers reported having killed at least 5000 seals and sea lions in the last decade. The real figure could be much higher as some kills according to fish farm employees go unreported.

The mass worldwide production of salmon in fish farms has caused a drop in wild salmon prices. This has hurt thousands of commercial fishermen and their communities in which they live and support, drawing into question the true economic value of this industry.

It takes three to five kilograms of other fish, such as herring and anchovy to make the feed necessary to produce one kilogram of farmed salmon resulting a loss of edible animal protein worldwide.

In Canada it is illegal to make animal feed out of proteins otherwise suitable for human consumption As a result most of the feed for BC salmon is obtained from South America. This reduces the amount of food energy available to people there.

To fatten up their livestock, some salmon farmers use bright lights even at night to confuse the salmon into thinking it is always feeding time. This attracts other fish to the farm area and may disrupt their feeding and migration patterns.

In B.C. fish farms use net guards that deter predators. Some farmers coat the nets in a highly toxic solution to prevent naturally occurring marine organisms from growing on them. This toxic solution contaminates our waters.

There are over 85 open net cages farms currently operating in BC waters and another 35 farms that are dormant and could be started up at any time. This number does not include all the many new farms that the industry and provincial government hope to see on our coast over the next few years. At the current level alone, collectively these farms discharge waste into the ocean, which is roughly equivalent, in terms of pollution, to the raw sewage from a city with 500,000 inhabitants. This untreated waste contaminates the marine environment.