Farmed or Wild Salmon?

If you are deciding whether to get farmed or wild salmon, welcome to the rest of us. We are trying to figure out the same thing ourselves. But a fairly consistent finding among health authorities is to continue to eat salmon -- be it wild or farmed. Both are low enough in mercury content and contaminates to be safe for healthy people.

However, many nutritionists and health experts do recommend wild salmon (especially Wild-caught Alaskan salmon) over farmed salmon whenever possible -- be it fresh or frozen, and canned as next best. If not possible to find wild salmon, then continue to eat farmed salmon.

There are contradictory reports in the media as to which is better. Some say wild salmon has more mercury. And other say farmed salmon has more PCB and other toxins and contaminates. Then what about the beneficial omega-3 levels? Some say wild salmon has more omega-3. Other say farmed salmon has just as much. The omega-3 in salmon depends on what the salmon is eating. In the wild, they are eating algae for their source of omega-3. In the farms, it depends on what farm feed is being fed to them.

Salmon farms varies in quality. Some are better than others. And some can raise salmon of quality that is as good a wild salmon. Many warnings you hear about farmed salmon in the media are from "feedlot fish". Although, there are some farms that are using best practices in raising their sustainable salmon and can produce quality farmed salmon, it is difficult for us to know which farms are good and where our salmon is coming from. So the safer bet is to get wild salmon.

There are only a few ways to produce wild salmon, the salmon grows naturally in the wild and fisherman catches them right out of the water. Then they put the fish for sale directly at the markets as fresh salmon (if you are near the oceans or rivers). Or they freeze or can or smoke the wild salmon for transport and later sale.

There is nothing wrong with freezing and canning the salmon. If you are not near the ocean, that is one of the few ways they can get the fish to you. Even if you live by the ocean, fisherman do not go fishing for wild salmon in the winter. So if you want to eat wild salmon in the winter, it has got to be frozen, canned, or smoked.

Wild salmon is more expensive and is not always available. If you are unable to get wild salmon, eating farmed salmon is still better than not eating salmon at all. Salmon in general are good for health due to their omega-3 fatty acids. Any risk associated with mercury or contaminates are outweighed by the salmon's benefits as long as you do not eat too much of it.

If you are eating "fresh" salmon (not frozen or canned) in the winter time, then it is farmed salmon. Fisherman do not catch fresh salmon in winter.

If the salmon is labeled "Alaskan Salmon", then it is wild salmon. Because there are no farmed salmon in Alaska. By law, Alaska does not allow farmed salmon.

If the salmon is label "Atlantic Salmon", then it is farmed salmon. There are no more (or very little) wild salmon in the Atlantic Ocean anymore.

If the salmon is unlabelled (as in a restaurant), it is probably farmed salmon unless it specifically is advertised in the menu as "Alaskan" or "wild". Farmed salmon are more economical for restaurants.

Wild salmon has a deeper and redder color that persists even after cooking. The deeper and redder the meat, the higher the quality. The red color is due to the beneficial antioxidant astaxanthin that the salmon obtain by eating algae and zooplankton out in the wild. You want salmon with high levels of astaxanthin. Some farmed salmon are naturally gray and dye are injected to turn them pink. But they still will not be as red as quality wild salmon.

Some species of salmon turn red to indicated to potential mates when they are ready to spawn. Another reason why wild salmon are red is because of the algae and seafood that they eat in the wild. In particular, algae has an antioxidant called astaxanthin that gives salmon their red color. Astaxanthin is a natural dye and is also what makes flamingos pink (because flamingos eat crustacens and shrimps which are pink due to the consumption of algea).

One of the main health benefits of salmon is their healthy omega-3 fatty acid. Salmon do not make omega-3. They get them from their diet. Wild salmon eat algae and other tiny seafood that provides them with this omega-3. Whereas farmed salmon are fed fish-meal and are generally lower in omega-3 content.

Wild salmon has less PCB toxins and contaminants. PCB, or polychlorinated biphenyl is an industrial pollutant that is gotten into our environments and are sometimes found in fish-feeds (which are ground up fish that also contain PCB).

The PCB are concentrated in the fat of the salmon. Since wild salmon are leaner because they swim long distances in the wild, they do not accumulate as much PCB in the fat. In any case, you might want to trim visible fat from the fish.

Avoid deep fried fish where the oil used is frying is inflammatory and the fish contains less omega-3.

Yes, fish does have mercury. It is not their fault; they do not produce the mercury. Humans produce the mercury and we have contaminated their water with it. Mercury does not degrade easily and bio-accumulate. Since bigger fishes eat smaller fishes, the bigger fishes tend to have more mercury than smaller fishes. In general, try to eat fish that are small enough to fit into a frying pan.

Mercury is very toxic to humans. However, it is debatable as to how much mercury is in the fish and whether that amount poses any significant risk or not. Even the experts have differing opinions and there is no easy answer to that question. However, the general consensus is that most experts feel that the benefits of eating fish outweighs the risks. Even eating farmed fish might better than not eating fish at all. As long as you do not eat too much farmed salmon.

How much farmed salmon can you eat is again up to debate. But back in 2003, the Environmental Working Group reported on high levels of cancer causing PCBs in farmed salmon and advise consumers to eat no more than one serving (8 oz) of farmed salmon once a month. They also say to trim the fat and get wild salmon instead.

More recently in 2006, when asked the question "How Dangerous Is Farmed Salmon?", Dr. Andrew Weil answered by citing a study that found that dioxin levels in farmed salmon was 11 times higher than wild salmon. Farmed salmon had PCB levels at 36.6 parts per billion as compared to 4.75 in wild salmon. He agreed with the researchers recommendation of limiting farmed salmon consumption to 0.5 to 1 meal per month. Dr. Weil said to get your omgea-3 from wild Alaskan salmon, sardines, or omega-3 supplements.

In fact, Dr. Mark Hyman says that sardines is his favorite on page 73 of The UltraMind Solution. Remember that sardines are much smaller fish than salmon. Afterall, they fit in tiny cans which is how they often come in.

But there is nothing wrong with cans. Just watch the ingredients label and get ones without too much preservatives or other things added. Dr. Andrew Weil says ...

"If wild Alaskan salmon is too pricey for your food budget, you can buy canned sockeye (red) salmon in the supermarket; it's all wild. It will give you the same omega-3 fatty acids found in fresh or frozen Alaskan wild salmon." [source]

He also mentions that vitalchoice.com is a good place where you can get wild salmon online.

Dr. Andrew Weil likes black cod, or sablefish, as mentioned on The Dr. Oz Show.

In the book The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth, author says that women planning to get pregnant, are pregnant, or breast feeding should avoid high-mercury fish which are shark, swordfish, tile fish, king mackerel, tuna steaks, and whale meat. And they should not have more than 2 meals a week of most fish (including salmon, catfish, and canned light tuna). For albacore (white) tuna, no more than 6 ounces a week.

Nevertheless, The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth says ...

"for goodness' sake, do not stop eating fish. The good stuff in it will do more for you than, the bad stuff will do you harm, especially if you choose your sources carefully." [page 219]

And the author does mention that he likes Vital Source.

In the 2010 book "Dr. Chopra Says", it writes on page 47-48 that it would be very difficult for anyone to get mercury poisoning from the current amount of mercury in fish and that the gains offsets any potential risk of mercury.

Also selenium helps the body neutralize the effects of mercury.

Article on diabetes.org also reports that for most people the benefits of eating fish out weighs any negatives. It also mentions that wild fish are preferred to farmed on. Unfortunately, it is getting more difficult to find wild salmon in restaurants these days.