The Atlantic Salmon "Salmo Salar" is the most commonly eaten fish in Europe. Its ready availability is due to the relatively new explosion in salmon farming. Norway is the largest provider followed by Scotland and then Ireland. Bizarrely, the vast majority of farmed Atlantic Salmon comes from the Pacific Ocean with Chile producing more than half the worlds supply.

Salmon farming began in Ireland in 1974 with the ESB conducting trials at Carna, Co Galway. But it was in the late 1980s that farms really took off with sites in Donegal, Mayo, Galway, Kerry and Cork. International trade agreements and Tariffs played havoc with the price of farmed Salmon for a number of years and many farms folded and or changed ownership in this period. Norwegian, Dutch and German Corporations now control the industry and own most of the farms in Europe and Chile. A Norwegian worker will get 300% more in wages than a Chilean worker even though they work for the same employer.

Since the ban on drift netting took affect here in 2007 wild Salmon are protected from commercial fishing. This has caused a huge demand for Organic Salmon both in Ireland and the rest of Europe. According to BIM, our fisheries Board, the market can absorb 5,000 tonnes more Organic Salmon without impacting the selling price. The latest figures are from 2007 and show an overall harvest of 10,000 tonnes, valued at €131M of which 7,000 tonnes were certified Organic. The Organic Salmon fetch at least 40% more at market. According to industry sources up to 300 jobs are created with each increase in production of 5,000 tonnes.

The industry is not without its dilemmas however, as the Salmon is a highly active carnivorous fish, farming it has been compared to raising tigers for meat. A staggering 37% of all global seafood is now ground into feed for aquaculture, poultry and animal feed. And some scientists now argue that a salmon farm is a reverse protein factory with resources used far outweighing the end product. The Industry claim Salmon are very efficient at converting food into muscle (meat).This is measured as FCR or Food Conversion Ratio. The FCR of Salmon is 1.2 to 1, whereas pigs are 2.5 to 1 and cows are 8 to 1. This efficiency means the impact on the marine environment is reduced.

Sceptics are not convinced and believe at least 3kg of wild fish go to make up 1kg of Salmon flesh. Anchovies, Herrings, Sardines , Mackerel, Sandeela and Menhaden are all caught and ground to make the fishmeal and fish oil . Some of these populations such as North Sea Sandeel have been decimated as a result.

In June2005 an Irish organic Salmon farm had to withdraw its stock from Morrisons Supermarkets in the UK when traces of the banned fungicide Malachite Green was found in the fish. The farm claimed the dye had come from paper towels during processing.

In late February this year 100,000 juvenile salmon weighing 70g each escaped from a Scottish farm. Storm damage and a hole in a net were to blame. These can play havoc by competing or worse breeding with the wild stock. The farm was owned by Marine Harvest who own 80% of Irish Farms.
The solutions to the many problems facing this growing industry must lay in enclosed containers.

Though a larger capital outlay is required the system will be cleaner and more cost effective in time. The contained re-circulation system filters and recycles the water and wild stocks are protected from disease and parasites. Fewer chemicals are required and feed requirements can be reduced by up to 40%. No antibiotics or delousing treatments are needed. ECOFARM, a Norwegian Company, has pioneered this system and find it 21% cheaper than Open Net farming. Hopefully, here lies the future.