Drawbacks of Fish Farming

Fish farming is productive for mass supply but the farms do have negative effects on the environment and wild stock. Fish farming is a controversial issue around the world and researching the effects of the farms is an ongoing project with mixed results. Fish farming uses a variety of methods but raising fish in open ocean cages is the most popular.

  1. Disease

    • One of the major issues with fish farming is disease. Large numbers of fish are raised in close quarters. The fish spread disease throughout the farmed population and are typically treated with antibiotics. The disease does have a strong chance of spreading to wild stocks if the fish are caged within a wild environment. This is especially common with farm-raised salmon in open ocean cages but also occurs when hatchery-reared fish are intentionally introduced into a wild environment.

    Evironmental Degredation

    • A large number of fish farms are built on land. The massive aquaculture farms are aquarium environments where every aspect of the environment is artificially manipulated to encourage fast growth of the fish. The large amount of land required for the farms typically requires removal of native forest and vegetation and habitat destruction for local wildlife. The fish farms are located near large river systems and ocean environments and the farmers cycle the water through the farm and back into the ocean. The recycled water has the potential to spread disease to native populations.

    Loss of Spawning Grounds

    • Fish are farmed for the pleasure of anglers in many areas. The fish are raised at hatcheries and released into wild rivers, lakes and ocean environments with liberal kill limits. Not all of the fish are harvested and many will infiltrate the spawning grounds of native fish. The infiltration leads to reduced gene quality in successful spawners and a reduction in the potential for wild fish reproduction. The problem is especially evident in northwest steelhead and salmon populations.

    Pollution

    • The large concentrations of fish create an unhealthy amount of feces and organic product that is introduced into the environment. Many of the farms also use chemical products to clean their equipment. They introduce the chemicals into the water which eventually recycles back into the environment.