The end of sushi as we know it? The economic case for salmon farming is undeniable. The fish is more efficient at converting feed into protein than cattle. It takes anywhere from 1.5 to 3 pounds of feed to produce a pound of salmon, whereas as much as a dozen pounds of feed is required to yield a pound of beef. But the environmental case for salmon farming is more complicated, and intensive production poses problems. Salmon are predators that require a diet made up largely of other fish, such as sardines, anchovies or herring, which are ground up and made into pellets that are fed to salmon in netted pens floating in coastal waters. These forage species also make up the largest share of the wild fish caught every year. Catch rates have been in decline, however, and there are doubts about whether todays harvests are sustainable. Research into feed that relies less on other fish and more on cereals and potatoes might help ease the demand for forage fish. Some in the industry hold out hope that genetically modified salmon that grow twice as fast as wild salmon may offer a way forward. The Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve commercial production of GM salmon amid objections by environmental groups and members of Congress. Some supermarket chains, under pressure from consumer groups, have vowed not to sell the modified fish even if it is cleared for production. Even if aquaculture offers answers, Ono is right about one thing: None of this will help with the depletion of prized wild species such as bluefin tuna, whose stocks have been depleted by more than 96 percent in some parts of the world. They have become so rare that they can fetch astronomical prices. Last year a 500-pound tuna sold for almost $1.8 million at a Tokyo seafood auction. Sushi devotees shouldnt despair just yet. Researchers keep trying to farm bluefins from egg to maturity, though doing so poses challenges: As juveniles, bluefins have a larval stage and feed on other fish larvae and microscopic sea creatures that consume algae. When they are older, they must be fed other fish. A Japanese company earlier this year said it succeeded in developing feed that bluefins will consume, but whether the process can be scaled up is unknown. Lets hope that farm-raised tuna becomes commercially viable and that conservation efforts allow stocks to replenish. If not, theres the risk that the last wild bluefin tuna will be caught, sliced up and served up as toro, the most desirable of sushi ingredients. If that happens, sushi as we know it will never be the same. chicagotribune/news/opinion/commentary/ct-sushi-japan-jiro-ono-jacques-cousteau-salmon-farming-tuna-perspec-0102-20150101-story.html
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 11:13:47 +0000
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