Open net pen fin-fish farming

Open net pen fin-fish farming is a method of growing fish, usually salmon or trout in concentrated fish farms. Some of the many disadvantages of this process are:

• Thousands of fish are crowded into pens created by fish nets. Overcrowding is not natural and is detrimental to fish health.
• Diseases and sea lice prosper in such crowded conditions and are combatted by feeding antibiotics to the fish. Consumption of the fish passes these antibiotics to humans,.
• The food the fish require is broadcast over the net pens. Un-eaten food sinks to the ocean floor, creating pollution.
• This pollution is made much worse by the fish feces, which mostly lands on the sea bed below, creating large dead zones.
• Fish farms are noisy and disruptive to adjacent land owners
• Fish farms cover large areas of the ocean, removing hundreds of acres from public use.

There are alternatives to open net pen fin-fish farming and one is land based fish farming. One of the most successful is right here in Nova Scotia: Sustainable Blue, available at Sobeys.

Things you can do to combat open net pen fin-fish farming:

1. Refuse to purchase any fish grown in the ocean
2. Ask your favourite grocer and restaurateur not to purchase any fish grown in the ocean.
3. Spread the word.

For more information visit: Healthybays.ca