Thursday, May 10, 2007

So-called wild salmon fed contaminated feed from China

Wait a minute, wild salmon ate the contaminated feed from the pet food scandal? How can that be? Was the food sprinkled out on the open ocean for wild fish to eat?

Well no, actually, most wild salmon start their lives in fish farms called hatcheries, where they eat pellets and live in concrete ponds. It's only later that they are released into the ocean to become "wild" salmon.

See blogfish for details on this "wild" fish problem.

News is out so far on contaminated feed being given to wild salmon in some hatcheries in Washington and British Columbia (see below). No doubt more revelations to come. Will we start to see more disclosure of what is a "wild" salmon? We'll see.

Check out the Native Fish Society for a thorough discussion of what is a "wild" salmon, and wild salmon vs. hatchery salmon issues, from Bill Bakke, the "Dean" of wild salmon conservation.

Short clip from copyrighted, subscription-only news service Intrafish.com:

Contaminated feed apparently fed to wild B.C. salmon
Ben DiPietro

Published - May 10. 2007

Some of the fish feed U.S. and Canadian authorities say is contaminated with the banned chemical melamine may have been fed to wild salmon smolts raised at one British Columbia hatchery, a company official said Wednesday.

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