Something of interest on Salmon Farms

I got this off the internet today. Its from a food industry perspective but highlights the huge growth in Salmon farming and the cost and need for fish pellets. A worring trend.

FARMED SALMON
Processors are using more and more Norwegian and Chilean farmed salmon, as stocks of the wild version of the fish plunge worldwide.

Meanwhile the EU and US are looking to lower catches of wild salmon or possibly place restrictions on imports in order to curb a steep decline in stocks worldwide. If adopted the policies could reduce the domestic supply and result in processors having to look more and more for imports from non-EU countries such as Chile. Figures released by EuroFish indicate that markets in the EU, US and Japan will remain lucrative despite supply fears worldwide. Norwegian and Chilean salmon producers have posted record profits for the first four months of 2006, setting a new market high for fresh and frozen farmed salmon. France is the largest importer of salmon in the EU, with an average 35,000 tonnes imported from January – April in 2006, a seven per cent increase from 2005's four month period. Coupled with price hikes and an increasing demand, France's fresh salmon import value rose 24 per cent arriving at €152.7m for the first four months. The Germans outdid the French in terms of overall import value, paying a total of €165m due to a 15 per cent four-month price increase in that market. A majority of the German and French supply comes from Norway. This import pattern remained consistent despite an EU decision in January to impose a €2.80/kg minimum price on imported Norway farmed salmon. The measure was passed to prevent flooding of European markets with cheap Norwegian salmon and to protect Scottish and Irish fisheries. The Norwegians have lodged a complaint with the WTO and a dispute panel was formed in June of this year – the disagreement remains undecided.
In a related report, Norway's Intrafish found that producers were struggling to keep up with worldwide consumer demands for salmon. Intrafish says a shortage of 1,000,000 tonnes of fish meal, food fed to farm-raised salmon, is keeping down the amount of farmed salmon on the market. Fishmeal, which has exceeded €1,265 per tonne this year, is up €790 from a year ago. Price hikes and shortages are being blamed on an increasing Chinese demand for feed and problems in supply from South America. It takes about 64 oz of ground up wild fish meal to generate 16 oz of farmed salmon. Overall, reports show that farmed Atlantic salmon has reached record levels, however, Eurofish believes a stabilization in the market will occur by the end of this year. A stabilization of the market will not adversely affect profit levels for producers. The value increase during the four month period guarantees considerable profits are to be made despite fluctuations in demand and supply.

total wild fish weight consumed to make a farmed fish, only a quarter of the weight - unsustainable

crazy - and then the usual problems of lice - heavy metal accumulation etc. etc.

how is this a good idea - 4 into 1 doesnt go :evil:

always heard it was more like a 5:1 ratio

It would be very interesting to know what species of fish is used in the fish meal!

Does anyone have any clues?

John D.

A lot of fishmeal is from capelin and sandeel - both also the food of salmon at sea. One of the concerns expressed over the last few years is that overfishing of capelin stocks has affected the food supply for wild salmon - lower sea survival and smaller returning fish have been a feature of salmon runs in the last decade....

would a lot of by catch not be sold as potential fish meal?

Mackerel, herring (some of which has only been caught so the roe can be sold into the Japanese market), scad etc. Anything in a pinch, the oilier the better.....

I'm surprised that the salmon farms don't offload and dead fish they have to the oil plants - like when they have a mass mortality or have to cull fish due to disease etc. Usually bury them in the nearest bog....

Or maybe they already do...

so sandman youve obviously experience of them burying in the local bog - but this surely has to be small scale and potentially creates plenty of problems of its own

who owns the bog
vermin
water pollution

etc.etc.

or like most things, is it turn a blind eye.......... :roll:

cant see it on a large scale

Not personally. But it's not like it isn't news....even if old news...

http://www.loughswilly.com/Press/Sep2403.htm

...by the recent RTE Prime Time programme, which highlighted some serious shortcomings in the regulation of salmon farming in Ireland, including allegedly illegal dumping of dead salmon in a bog in Galway. Unfortunately, there was no representation from the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources (DCMNR), which is keen to publicise its role....

There are pics on the net of a JCB burying them. Google them if bothered...

well ive never heard of it before - but burying in the bog is so irresponsible

even if whatever ever killed them wasnt toxic initially - the decaying effluent out of all that salmon would be so mobile in a bog that it would surely travell in runoff and kill somewhere else aswell

why the hell is there rendering plants for meat and a whole load of disposal regulations and then this can happen with fish

terrible :evil: