The annual return of the salmon from the oceans was a vital source of food for many of our ancestral communities. Today modern science has confirmed the health giving benefits of including oily such as salmon in our diet. 

 “Omega-3 from land and sea” identifies the sustainable sources of fish high in omega-3 and promotes alternative vegetative sources of naturally omega-3 rich foods, which can be used to compliment or replace a seafood diet.
Omega –3 from sea consists of oily fish: Herring, Salmon, Mackerel, Tuna, Sardines and Anchovies.
As active supporters of both the Marine Conservation Society and the Marine Stewardship Council, part of our advice and promotion concentrates on relaying the recommendations issued by these two bodies for fish in general. (Court of the Silver King's Customer Licence Code MSCI0375).

The Marine Conservation Society issues advice and guidelines on all fish.  They have a dedicated website www.fishonline.org and produce an acclaimed book the Good Fish Guide as well as a small pocket guide.  Copies of the book are available at our exhibit at shows and from the MCS offices. The MCS is involved with all aspects of the marine environment and is well worth supporting.

          
WILD ALASKA SALMON &
 ORGANIC SCOTTISH FARMED SALMON

Wild fisheries are certified to the Marine Stewardship Council's environmental standard for well-managed and sustainable fisheries. Fisheries applying for certification are independently assessed for sustainability. Once certified, products are able to carry the MSC logo giving consumer confidence that they are making an ethical choice of seafoods.

In addition we have produced our own information and guidance relating to the salmon to help you make your choice.

Wild Atlantic Salmon.

At one time we would have been able to catch wild fish from many of our native rivers. Until the early 1800’s practically every river supported a vibrant salmon fishery. The industrial revolution along with improved transport allowed salmon to be sent more easily to distant markets, fish numbers started to decline. 
Productive salmon rivers, such as the Thames, became too polluted for salmon.  Efforts to revert this decline had little effect. By the 1960’s the oceanic feeding grounds were discovered around the arctic fringe, intense industrial fishing ensued taking salmon at sea destined for the already beleaguered rivers of Northern Europe. The outlook for the Atlantic salmon looked bleak. Pressure was brought to bear upon governments surrounding the North Atlantic by sports fishermen to ensure that the salmon, and the sport they loved, survived.
Many oceanic and coastal, commercial fisheries are closed with compensation to fishermen. Each river is now managed on an individual basis where the amount of fish caught can be regulated to ensure sufficient salmon reach their breeding grounds. Much is and has been done to improve the habitat for the salmon in rivers and water quality, restocking schemes in some rivers are showing signs of success. More can always been done. The overall view of the WWF for the North Atlantic is that the salmon is in serious decline.
 Some well managed rivers are capable of being fished on a sustainable basis, most of these are only fished by rod and line. It is hoped that with continuing effort the decline will be halted and stocks will recover.
If you do find Wild Atlantic Salmon for sale enquire how and where it was caught  - sellers of a sustainable fish will be proud to tell you of it’s provenance. However well managed the seas and rivers might become they will not be able to satisfy the increasing demand for salmon.

Farmed Atlantic Salmon

As far back as 2000 years BC the Chinese bred carp. In the Middle Ages monks used to grow freshwater fish in ponds and lakes attached to monasteries - farming fish for food is nothing new. The salmon farming industry developed in the late 1960’s and has been growing ever since with an estimated production in Scotland alone of 140,000 tons a year and it is set to keep on growing. Salmon eggs are taken from brood stock and hatched in fresh water, then transferred to cages at sea.  Salmon are fed on a mixture of fish oils and meals combined with vegetative sources of protein and fats.
Previously seasonal, salmon is now available all year round and very good value. Despite some fears in the past regarding levels of toxins (which could also be detected in some wild fish), it is considered to be a healthy nutritious food - an oily fish, high in omega 3. The Food Standards Agency’s recommendation is that we eat one portion a week.

As with any developing modern industry, fish farming is not without it’s critics.  Salmon farming has detrimental effects on wild salmon populations; escapee fish breed with wild fish genetically weakening them; levels of parasitic sea lice around cages can infect the wild stock; the levels of waste under cages is of concern.  An  important aspect  is the sourcing of sustainable fish oils and meal necessary as part of the salmons diet.  Many of these problems are being addressed but as with any type of farming there will always be an impact on the environment. One opinion held is that artificially reared fish have taken the pressure off wild stocks and helped preserve them, or could it be that without fish farming we would take more care of wild fish?
The Scottish salmon farming industry is regulated both voluntarily and legislatively, environmental impacts are continually being reduced - stronger cages sited in tidal currents and lower stocking rates together with less intensive forms of production, with salmon feed coming from proven sustainable sources.  Consumers and growers are increasingly becoming aware that environmental improvements and the eating quality of all types of foods produced organically or less intensively does outweigh the necessary additional cost.

Wild Pacific Salmon (Alaska)

The vast expanse of the Northern Pacific oceanic feeding grounds, combined with the thousands of breeding rivers, in a thinly populated wilderness, make the seas around Alaska some of the richest fishing grounds in the world. The few indigenous Eskimo subsistence fishermen had little impact on the stocks.  In the 1860’s America bought Alaska from Russia and the westernised economy, which had already depleted the Atlantic Salmon catch on the east coast, set to work harvesting the Pacific Salmon. The usual ineffective measures to halt the decline in stocks had little effect and by the 1950’s the annual catch had dropped to 20 million fish.

with thanks to the Alaska Salmon Marketing Institute for this photo

When Alaska gained Statehood it was written into their constitution that wild life, including salmon, should be managed on a sustainable basis. Rigorous controls were
introduced with harsh punishment for transgression. Where stocks were low restocking schemes were introduced and are still in place today, around one in five Alaskan salmon are released into the wild from hatcheries.  Fishing is not permitted until sufficient salmon have swum into their breeding rivers to ensure future generations thrive. The annual catch is now an average of 190 million fish each year.
All the salmon harvested in Alaska are classed as sustainable - the fishery is certified to the Marine Stewardship Council's environmental standard as well-managed and sustainable.

The income from the sale of wild salmon is vital to funding the management of Alaska's waters - there is no salmon farming allowed in Alaska. The Alaska Fisheries Management is much admired, it is unfortunate that we have to look to the other side of the world to source commercial quantities of wild salmon classed as sustainable.

When buying or eating out, ask where your fish comes from; restaurateurs, retailers, food producers and processors who are confident in their products will be pleased and proud to tell you where it’s from and/or how it’s reared.

Visit www.fishonline.org to find out which fish to buy or get a copy of the Good Fish Guide from the Marine Conservation Society.
www.mcsuk.org

 Small amounts of omega 3 are found in eggs and the meats of many animals, particularly those that graze naturally.

It is estimated that we waste a third of the food we buy, you can either save a third or spend this on ethically produced foods.  Eating less but healthier food is something we all can do.

When buying farmed fish look for organic - less fish are grown in each cage and are sited in strong tidal currents; their feed comes from
 sustainable sources.

In stores and supermarkets look out for the  Marine Stewardship Council which indicates that fish are from a certified sustainable fishery.
www.msc.org

email: salmonboats@yahoo.co.uk

Copyright Court of the Silver King 2007