|
Providing you with the latest information on
Nutritional Prevention
2002: Marian
Keen, Jodie Dias
Essential
Fish Tips: Health
Care professionals tell us to eat lots of cold water fish, especially
salmon, because we need Omega-3, an Essential Fatty Acid, for optimal
brain function and cardio health.
In British Columbia
this is a paradox because most of the salmon are so "intoxicated"
with poisons, humans are unable to consume them!
Let's look at
some of the things man has done to the creatures that live in the
oceans and lakes in North America:
In 1985 tests
were conducted on the ocean fish in southern California. Greater
than one part per million of DDT were found in the edible flesh.
For many years a local DDT manufacturer had dumped its industrial
waste full of DDT into the sewer. A few million pounds were deposited
on the ocean bed around the sewage outfall. In addition, ocean barges
took more DDT out to sea and dumped it. By the time of the tests
(1985) it was evident that the DDT levels were decreasing but even
1 p.p.m. of a human carcinogen is too much. Long ago the FDA set
a minimum of 5 p.p.m., but did not consider the carcinogenic risk
of DDT.*1
Ten years ago
(late 1980's) a study, part of an American six-month investigation
of the fish industry, sampled popular fish from super markets, grocery
stores and fish shops. This is what was discovered: 40% of the fish
were beginning to spoil when purchased; 90% of swordfish were mercury
contaminated; 50% of whitefish and 40% of salmon were contaminated
by PCB's (polychlorinated biphenyls); the clams were laced with
arsenic and lead; and 50% of the clams were contaminated with animal
and human feces (1 in 5 had counts of fecal coliform exceeding 100
per gram).*2
Let's hope the
situation has improved, but in the meantime be careful what you
purchase. It does not give one's appetite a lift to think of eating
salmon or shellfish from the waters around Vancouver or any of the
other possible runoffs from civilization. In the 1970's, governments
offered grants and subsidies to fish farming. Even though the U.N.
warned that foreign or exotic species are harmful to local ecosystems,
70% of farmed salmon in BC are Atlantic stock. These particular
salmon escape by the 1000's and displace wild stocks by competing
for breeding space and food. Potentially they could breed and weaken
the genetic makeup of the wild salmon. Over 1 million Atlantic salmon
have already escaped. Storms, faulty operations, predators and accidents
create the high numbers.*3
For parasite
infestations (sea lice) farmed fish take a bath in pesticides or
consume the pesticides in their feed. The pesticides then travel
on to the natural marine environment.*4
The David Suzuki
Foundation does not oppose aquaculture in general, but it does note
the threats of: exotic fish escaping into BC wild waters; open net
cages that allow toxic feed pellets, fish proteins, antibiotics
and pesticides to escape. Open net cages should probably be replaced
with closed containment systems, but assurance that the farm industry
will convert to closed containment has yet to be achieved.*5
In 1995 the
B.C. government placed a moratorium on new marine salmon farms.
John van Dongen, Minister of Agriculture Food & Fisheries, said
that a scientific revue (1997) by the Environmental Assessment Office
concluded that, as practiced, the risks of salmon aquaculture were
low, but still made 49 recommendations to reduce the risks of salmon
aquaculture. The provincial government promised improved policies
for fish health, fish escapes, sitings and relocations, fish waste
and for research and development. These were supposed to be finished
by April 30, 2002 when the 5 year ban will be lifted and new farm
applications will be accepted.*6
In response,
Anne McMullin, Executive Director of the BC Salmon Farmers Association,
said that the Association intends to add 10 new farms a year that
means in 10 years the industry will double and will generate 2.4
billion dollars in economic activity every year.*7
That's a lot
of fish! Who will buy it?
Otto Langer
is Director of Marine Conservation and a registered professional
biologist who worked for the Federal Department of Fisheries and
Oceans for 30 years. He finds that performance based regulations
monitored by the industry itself is worrisome and that the decision
to lift the moratorium could lead to the decline of the health of
marine life on the BC coast.*8
On CKNW
Rafe Mair quoted from the Auditor General's Salmon Farm Report (2000)
that the "Department [of Fisheries and Oceans] is not fully meeting
its legislative obligations under the fisheries act."*9
Farmed fish
are so densely packed that 10,000 to 50,000 are kept in one cage
at a time. Disease and parasites are therefore big problems so antibiotics
and pesticides are also used. Farmed salmon receive more antibiotics
by weight than any other livestock leading to antibiotic resistant
diseases. *10
The most commonly
used antibiotic is oxytetracycline
- 6.4 metric tones were used on B.C. salmon farms in 1998. Seven
other antibiotics are also used. *15
The drug-laden
wastes from surplus food and feces are free to pollute the marine
environment. Research has been completed from Dr. Michael Easton,
David Suzuki Foundation, and Dr. Miriam Jacobs of the University
of Surrey in conjunction with the US Environmental Protection Agency
and suggests that potentially dangerous levels of toxic chemicals
are contained in farm salmon feed. Dr. Easton's study compared toxic
levels in farmed salmon, wild salmon and commercial salmon feed.
Samples showed farmed salmon include ten times more Polychlorinated
Bihphenyls (PCB's) and higher levels of organochlorine pesticides
and polyprominated diphenyl ethers than wild salmon.*11
One year ago,
Allan Rock, Federal Health Minister, was urged to assess risks of
eating farmed salmon and publish safe levels for consumption. In
Britain the maximum is one portion a week. Minister Rock did not
issue such a report.*12
In January 2002,
Fisheries Minister, John van Dongen, recommended that salmon farming
be expanded and then virtually announced that it already has because
more escapes had occurred. Most of those fish will never be seen
again.*13
Jim Fulton of
the David Suzuki Foundation, with the Musqueam Band and Sierra Legal
Defense brought about an injunction on February 8, 2002 to prevent
the infectious waste from a highly contagious salmon disease being
dumped untreated into the largest salmon producing river in the
world - the Fraser River in BC. Several officials of the Department
of Fisheries and Oceans made it clear that the DFO would not stop
boats from dumping diseased fish.*14
The fish waste
smolts were then taken to Parksville, BC. There was observed spillage.
The fish had IHN virus (Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis virus)
and were composted at a facility in Courtenay. Seven farms are infected
with IHN; six are in Campbell River and one on the North Coast.
Emergency steps are needed to control and dispose of the fish waste.*15
The differences
between farmed salmon and wild salmon is astounding. Farmed salmon
are fed fish-meal, fish oil, and fillers. It takes 3 - 5 kg to produce
1 kg of farmed salmon. Wild salmon is one of the best sources of
omega-3 fatty acids and farmed salmon is higher in saturated fats.
The saturated fat in the feed produces farmed salmon that have 70%
more fat than wild Atlantic salmon and 200% more fat than wild sockeye,
pink or chum salmon. Overall, farmed salmon has lower levels of
beneficial omega-3 fatty acids.*16
Wild salmon
are rarely available at a restaurant or market. This is alarming
because consumers interested in obtaining their omega-3 oils in
a nice fishy treat do not want to eat saturated fats, antibiotics
and pesticides in substitution. It is becoming more difficult to
find wild salmon to purchase and one must be careful to pick it
out from its farmed counterpart. For instance, generally mushy and
bland tasting, farmed salmon are fed dyes to color their gray flesh
pink, whereas, wild salmon is naturally pink to red in color and
firm and tasty. Sockeye, chum and pink salmon are not farmed. Canned
salmon is wild salmon because the soft flesh of farmed salmon makes
them difficult to can. The best canned fish are salmon and white
tuna (albacore).*17
TIPS:
When purchasing
fish, buy from a reputable fish counter and look for the least polluted
fish. These typically are flounder and sole and fish from New Zealand
and Australia. Also, ask the merchant if the salmon is wild or farmed.
Generally salmon labeled "fresh" in supermarkets or on a restaurant's
fixed menu is farmed.*18
Avoid fish that
are heavily contaminated such as: swordfish, lake whitefish, oysters,
mussels, clams and yellow fin and big-eye tunas. Don't buy fish
from Great Lakes, L.A. and San Francisco basins, New Jersey coast,
Puget Sound and Boston Harbor. Alaska fish are threatened by radioactive
waste from Soviet testing sites.*19
When you pick
out your fish at markets, remember that fresh fish does not smell
fishy - it doesn't stink! The flesh should be firm and the eye glossy.
If you wish to find wild salmon in restaurants, check out Rafe Mair's
restaurant survey (March 2002) at http://www.cknw.com/various/FishFile/survey.html.
He has posted a list of restaurants in Vancouver, BC that feature
wild salmon when available. Maybe if we don't buy the inferior fish,
they will "fly" back home to the Atlantic!
References:
1.
"Spontaneous Healing" by Andrew Weil, M.D. © 1995 Weil
The Ballantine Publishing Group, ed. May 1996 pg 163
2.
"The New Nutrition" by Dr. Michael Colgan © 1995 Colgan
Apple Publishing, 1995 pg 20 - 21
3.
"Why You Shouldn't Eat Farmed Salmon", by David Suzuki Foundation
© January 2002, pamphlet
4.
www.davidsuzuki.org,
David Suzuki News bulletin:
February 13, 2002
5.
www.davidsuzuki.org,
David Suzuki News bulletin:
February 13, 2002
6.
Environment News Service: "Fish Farming Moratorium Lifted in British
Columbia", http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jan2002/2002L-01-31-01.html
7.
Environment News Service: "Fish Farming Moratorium Lifted in British
Columbia", http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jan2002/2002L-01-31-01.html
8. Environment News Service: "Fish Farming Moratorium Lifted in
British Columbia", http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jan2002/2002L-01-31-01.html
9.
Auditor General's Salmon Farm Report (2000), http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/domino/reports.nsf/html/0030ce.html
10.
"Why You Shouldn't Eat Farmed Salmon", by David Suzuki Foundation
© January 2002, pamphlet
11.
www.davidsuzuki.org,
David Suzuki News bulletin: January 8, 2001
12.
www.davidsuzuki.org, David Suzuki News bulletin: January 8,
2001
13.
www.davidsuzuki.org,
David Suzuki News bulletin: January 8, 2001
14.
www.davidsuzuki.org,
David Suzuki News bulletin: February 10, 2002
15.
www.davidsuzuki.org,
David Suzuki News bulletin: February 13, 2002
16.
"Why You Shouldn't Eat Farmed Salmon", by David Suzuki Foundation
© January 2002, pamphlet
17.
"Why You Shouldn't Eat Farmed Salmon", by David Suzuki Foundation
© January 2002, pamphlet
18.
"Spontaneous Healing" by Andrew Weil, M.D. © 1995 Weil, The Ballantine
Publishing Group, ed. May 1996 pg 163
19. "The New Nutrition" by Dr. Michael Colgan © 1995 Colgan, Apple
Publishing, 1995 pg 20 - 21
|
