There's Something Fishy About Organic Salmon

The first time I saw organic salmon offered on a menu, my immediate thought was, "What exactly is that?" Was it wild? Farmed? The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has pretty strict feed standards, so I imagined that it had to be farmed so the feed could be traced. But farmed salmon are fed wild-caught fish. What did they eat? How did they trace that? Did this organic salmon have color additives like other farmed salmon? Did the salmons' environment contain contaminants?

This avalanche of questions was as overwhelming to the USDA as it was to me. Perhaps for that reason, the USDA doesn't have any organic standards for seafood. Normally the use of the term "organic" is highly regulated, but since there are no standards to violate in the case of seafood, there is nothing to regulate. Seafood purveyors in America are restricted from using the USDA organic logo, but they are free to use the word itself as they please. Buyer beware.

For this reason, many people looking to sell organic salmon will sell European salmon, such as Scottish Atlantic. Unlike the USDA, the Soil Association in the U.K. does have organic standards for salmon. The salmon are indeed farmed, but producers cannot use the pink dye normally used to enhance farmed salmon, crowding in pens must be half that of what is allowed in conventional fish farms, and the use of pesticides to control sea lice is strictly forbidden. The fish meal must be from fish fit for human consumption rather than the industrial meal usually used in aquaculture, and it must be lower in fish oil (environmental toxins tend to concentrate in the oil).

While certainly an improvement on the horrible, conventional salmon farming practices, it's hard to say that even European organic salmon is raised in a truly organic or sustainable manner. Plus, it introduces great uncertainty into just how any particular fish labeled as organic is raised. Furthermore, the stuff just doesn't taste great. In a taste test described in the U.K.'s Guardian, there was no discernible difference between conventional farmed salmon and that labeled as organic. Neither could hold a candle to the firm, flavorful, wild-caught varieties.

Wild-caught salmon is clearly the only responsible choice, but we should probably be eating less salmon in general. Eating salmon, or indeed any of the carnivorous, pelagic fish like tuna or mahi mahi, contributes to the overfishing suffered by all of these species. But some salmon populations are healthier than others. Generally Alaskan salmon are doing well, but those caught off the coast of Washington, Oregon, and California should be avoided. The Monterrey Bay Seafood Watch program is a good place to keep tabs on which species are a better choice.

Remember, organic means different things in different places depending on the certification agency. It's pays to do a bit of research if you are unsure. If nothing else, your taste buds will thank you.

Photo credit: Jarle Vines