A serious thought came to me today about fish raised in "fish farms." Much of our fish now

fish farms now, as I understand it. My guess would be that as the fish near the "harvesting time," they are as thick in the water as "hair on a dog's back." If that is true, twenty four hours a day, the water moving through their mouth and the gills will be full of "fish poop!" Is this true? And if it is, would this cause the meat to be somehow "dirty?" Don't try to answer this question unless you know more about this than I do, which is next to nothing. The thought of those fish living in "poop" and then coming to my dinner table is distrubing. What do you know about this problem?

A serious thought came to me today about fish raised in "fish farms." Much of our fish now comes from these

I don't think 'fish poop' is a serious concern, tho there are reasons to favour wild fish over farm- or ocean-raised (the same thing) fish. Before getting into it, the argument FOR farm-raised fish is that it's better for the environment, i.e. if we can raise a large proportion of the fish we consume ourselves, the ocean's stock of fish is less likely to be depleted.

However, there are some issues. Farmed fish don't get the benefit of their traditional diet (for example, the natural diet of wild salmon is what makes salmon very rich in essential omega-3's; farmed salmon, with their artificial diet, are much lower in this and other nutrients). Most are fed pellets, and some are even fed colouring pellets, because their flesh isn't the same colour as their wild cousins. Essentially, they are dyed. Further, they are given antibiotics because yes: farmed fish are far more prone to disease (which could, I imagine, be due at least in part to 'fish poop'). Further, farmed fish are, as you surmise, 'thick in the water', which tends to decrease muscle activity and alter the basic biological components of the fish. Finally, farmed fish tend to be higher in mercury than wild.

What all of this boils down to is that farmed fish are significantly deficient in nutritional value than wild fish. Over the years, it's become rather self evident to me that the more natural the food (whatever it is), the better it is for you. Is farmed fish better for the environment? Most likely. Is it better for you? Unequivocally no. I'm a green-friendly person in general, but this is one area where I choose good health and nutrition over the greener option.

Hope that helps.

A serious thought came to me today about fish raised in "fish farms." Much of our fish now comes from these

Fish farms have huge filters that filter out most of the poop. Poop does get in the gills though. Gills are also like a filter though. They take in water and filter out everything but air. There won't be poop in the meat though. Farm raised fish tastes bad though because of not a lot of exercise and the food. They aren't very healthy and don't taste that good. Try to get wild caught fish.

A serious thought came to me today about fish raised in "fish farms." Much of our fish now comes from these

The fish are not that crowded when they are being raised, if they were they wouldn't grow as fast or as large. Catfish are raised in large ponds and water is not refreshed so the feces has a greater chance to accumulate than in the case of trout and salmon which require a constant exchange of fresh water to thrive.

A serious thought came to me today about fish raised in "fish farms." Much of our fish now comes from these

Don't believe everything you read from anti-aquaculture groups. Fish farmers have a financial interest in keeping their stock clean. The Food and Agriculture Oragnization of the United Nations lists 50 cultured aquatic species now in commercial production, so chances are the shrimp, oysters and catfish we are eating are not "wild" unless labeled as such. Catfish (the largest commercially raised species in the US) that are pond or channel raised are known to be much "cleaner" than what is caught in the wild.