Farmed Salmon, Pound for Pound

Among the ironies that belong alongside the knowledge of how much water it takes to raise a pound of beef (2500 according to some estimates) is the fact that it takes at least one pound of ground fish to raise one pound of farmed salmon. But the cost in resources is felt far beyond the production of feed, as noted in this article about the possible ties between salmon farming and the disappearance of orcas in British Columbia. “It takes more than one pound of fish, processed into pellets, to produce one pound of salmon. Even though farms are working to bring the ration down — some say they have achieved a one-to-one ratio — Dr. Pikitch said the growing need to feed farmed salmon had greatly increased the demand for anchovies, herring and other fish, and ‘aquaculture is indirectly pulling the rug out from under the ocean ecosystem.'” Cornelia Dean in The New York Times.