Environmental & Social Responsibility
Aquaculture (Fish Farming) vs. Commercial Fishing and Wild Capture
Are you focused on an ESG lifestyle and investments? Be part of the solution!
1. True environmentalists are pro-aquaculture. Aquaculture takes supply pressure off of wild stocks and puts it where it should be—on production from farms. Aquaculture is agriculture. Hunting and gathering must end in the seas as it ended on land 10,000 years ago at the dawn of terrestrial agriculture. The seas have reached their limits in growth of production, and did so more than 25 years ago. Wild supplies are finite while farmed supplies are not. People must not be responsible for stripping lakes and oceans bare of their aquatic resources. Fish are wildlife and part of the overall fabric of the world ecology and species diversity. Don't degrade and destabilize the ecological fabric and our environment by eating wild fish.
2. Aquaculture is the fastest-growing segment of the world agricultural economy--bold proof that aquaculture is the future of protein production in the world.
3. Farmed fish are not abused! The notion of abuse is completely counter-productive to the best interests of the fish farmer and counter-intuitive to their goals, which are fast-growing and healthy fish. Water quality, fish densities, and nutrition are optimized to reduce stress and create a healthy production environment. They are treated with the respect they need and deserve. Happy fish create high rates of survival, smaller feed bills, and healthy profits for producers. Humane treatment is simply good business.
4. Aquaculture products are fully traceable, from feed to hatchery to grow-out to processing to distribution to endpoint of sale. We know exactly what went into their production and their exposure. Traceability simply is not possible with wild finfish and shellfish! We don't know what they have eaten or to what they have been exposed (toxins, medical waste, plastics, heavy metals, etc.). Be safe and buy cultured seafood.
5. Wild-caught fish contain high levels of toxic "forever chemicals" (so-called PFAS) that do not break down in the environment over long periods of time and accumulate in the tissues of wild fish.
6. Water use and discharge from many indoor facilities are limited by the use of recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) technology. This approach uses filters that reuse water again and again, filtering out wastes and replenishing oxygen. This is a very frugal approach that uses minimal amounts of water as compared to other conventional technologies such as raceways, ponds, and ocean net-pens.
7. More and more fish farm operators use a technique called integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) where the "wastes" from the fish facility are used as raw materials for the production of other products such as shellfish and salable plants. These secondary crops act as natural filters, turning potential liabilities (i.e., solid, liquid, and gaseous fish wastes) into raw material assets for filter-feeding mollusks such as oysters and mussels and nutrient-absorbing freshwater and saltwater plants and algae. Literally, operators make money from wastes. Additionally, solid wastes can be used as high-quality material for terrestrial composting and application to farmers' fields.
8. Aquaponics (i.e., integrated aquaculture and hydroponics) is one very popular form of IMTA, where zero discharge is entirely possible.
9. When RAS and IMTA systems are used, discharge water (what of it there is—only small amounts) is high quality or higher than the intake water, generating a small carbon footprint.
10. Indoor facilities can operate year-round in good and bad weather and employ people who otherwise may not be able to find work.
11. The excessive use of chemicals and antibiotics in aquaculture is a myth in North America, Europe, and many parts of Asia. In fact as aquaculture is such a fledgling industry, the controlling government departments have made the use of these compounds more difficult than most other forms of agriculture. In the USA, the FDA highly regulates use of most chemicals and antibiotics. They are only allowed after the demonstration of need through a clinical examination and/or under the guidance of a veterinarian.
12. Aquaculture producers avoid the use of all therapeutants (i.e., antibiotics, sterilants, vaccines, etc.) whenever possible. They are expensive and diminish profitability. Instead, producers are turning to probiotics, superior management techniques and equipment, and other benign forms of health maintenance. Farmed finfish and shellfish are health food—wholesome and nutritious.
13. Third-party certification programs are now the norm in aquaculture and in all parts of the world (much like the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval or Underwriters Laboratories UL). They guarantee fish welfare, sustainability, environmental sensitivity, sanitation, freedom from chemical residues, and wholesomeness.
14. Fish have a much better feed conversion ratio (i.e., weight of feed to weight of fish—usually at or below 1.5:1) than any other agriculture species. By comparison, swine and cattle convert at rates as high as 8:1 or more, and poultry at 2-3:1. Because fish are cold-blooded (exothermic and poikilothermic), little or no food energy goes into producing heat; so, much more of it is directed toward growth. Growth is regulated by the water temperature in which the fish grow. With proper species selection and/or supplying appropriate conditions, growth rates can be optimized. Low feed conversion ratios mean more salable production for each unit of food consumed and a small carbon footprint.
15. Aquaculturists can easily adjust the nutritional qualities of their fish for consumers by simple manipulations of their feed, including eliminating contaminants and adding natural, heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Cultured fish are as nutritious or often more nutritious than their wild-caught counterparts.
16. Fish farms can actually use less water per unit of production than cattle ranches and feed lots, and are virtually odorless.
17. Seventy percent of the earth's surface is covered by water. Land for people and terrestrial agriculture is increasingly scarce and expensive. Buying farmed fish (e.g., Atlantic Salmon, Shrimp, Tilapia, Sea Bass, Sea Bream, Yellowtail, Cobia) instead of terrestrial meat and plant products will encourage the use of our lakes and oceans for aquaculture and food production.
18. Aquaculture in general offers a much more efficient use of space. Aquaculture can produce a greater amount of product in a given area by virtue of production in a three-dimensional culture environment, resulting in a small physical footprint.
19. Fish farms can be the envy of the nearby conventional and regional farmers, as fish farms become models of sustainability and environmental stewardship. Their neighbors and customers are proud to buy products from these facilities.
20. If you want to be part of the solution and not part of the problem, then support aquaculture and eat farmed products. Avoid fish from the wild. Let's leave them to their own devices, and to act as the environmental and ecological stewards and caretakers for which they are best suited and evolved. Do not contribute to overfishing and environmental degradation by eating wild fish!
21. Finally, as your consultants, we are here to make you look good in the eyes of your customers, all other nearby stakeholders, and the general public. The last thing we want is for you to look foolish, or look like you don't care about the environment. Indeed, your facility can be used as an educational center for students at all levels, and a way to teach them how food will be produced in the future. In short, it's all good!