Salmon farming
In the shadow of the mountains, the curved structures float in this isolated loch. Hidden from the public, out of site, out of mind. These structures are salmon farms, where salmon are brought up for our food for up to two years in these nets. This hidden aspect reflects the industry as a whole however it is now moving to a more transparent place where they use science to influence their choices. However, there are still environmental problems which aren’t handled correctly.
The salmons swirls around the pen, knocking their fins off the net, keeping them enclosed. In each pen there can be up to 1000 salmon, this dense population allows diseases and parasites to spread quickly. As larvae, sea lice free swim to find and attach on to a fish. This isn’t a huge problem with wild salmon because they are spread out, this is a different story with farmed salmon because of the densely populated nets.
The salmon circles the same water, day in, day out. One of the biggest problems with fish farms are parasites including sea lice, these parasites feed off the fishs' skin and blood to survive. They can cause huge damage to the fishs' skin causing them not to be sold or even causing premature death. This salmon’s flesh has lesions on its back from a Sea Lice infestation.
One of the measures to stop the spread of parasites is using small fish such as lumpfish, bass and wrasse to eat the parasites off the salmon. This is an environmentally friendly way of reducing the parasites' population and is cheaper than using harsh chemicals. However, it doesn’t completely stop the parasites which means more harmful methods like hydrogen peroxide which must be used as well.
Sinuses blocked, wind in the face, as the salmon below darts side to side. Startled by the ripples from a boat nearby, lesions envelope the salmon as it waits to be killed, the distress on its face becomes apparent. It peaks out of the water, not knowing when its last breath will be. This premature death from parasites is a regular occurrence for fish farms. The majority of the public are unaware of this practice going on whilst buying salmon from the supermarket.
Salmon with severe infestations of sea lice which can’t be controlled will be slaughtered and dissolved into acid for more discrete removal. This view of putting economic incentives over ecology isn’t sustainable. These farms are hidden from the majority of the public, however, awareness of bad practices in fish farms is increasing. As the population grows, arable land will dwindle, making us more reliant on aquaculture. As the world changes due to climate change, we need to think about our environmental impacts of farming in general. Making this industry more transparent about their practices is the key to making it more environmentally friendly.