The New Fish: The Truth about Farmed Salmon and the Consequences We Can No Longer Ignore
By (Author) Simen Saetre
By (author) Kjetil Ostli
Translated by Sian Mackie
Patagonia Books
Patagonia Books
16th November 2023
United States
General
Non Fiction
Agriculture, agribusiness and food production industries
639.3756
Paperback
Eat more fish, thedoctors say. But is the salmon you are consuming really healthy
In the early 1970s, a group of scientists researched how to make more food for the growing population of the world. They looked to the sea. They sampled genes from salmon in 41 Norwegian and Swedish rivers and designed a new salmon that was fatter and faster growing. This was considered an amazing innovation and was the beginning of a new industry: salmon farming.
The industry spread from coastal Norway to Scotland, Canada, Australia, Ireland, Chile, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and the United States. Business boomed, jobs were created, and a new type of food, the farmed salmon, spread around the globe. People everywhere bought and enjoyed the abundant fish: grilled, poached, roasted, and as sushi and sashimi. They were grateful for this delicious, affordable protein.
But at what cost
We now know that there were unintended consequences: some of these new fish escaped, competing for sustenance with other fish in the sea. The new fish spread diseases, salmon louse swarmed, and wild salmon stocks dwindles.
In a prizewinning five-year investigation, authors Simen Stre and Kjetil stli took an in-depth look at Norways role in the global salmon industry and, for the first time, produced a comprehensive evaluation of the detrimental effects of salmon farming. From lice to escapees, from concentrating the waste of sea pens in the fjords through which wild salmon swim to their natal streams to the fact that salmon farming causes a net reduction of protein reaped from the ocean, the results dont look good.Recent victories, such as the banning of net-pen fish farms in the waters of Washington State, are an indication that we are awakening to the environmental price of engineered fish.
It is said that we will continue to make the same mistakes unless we understand them.The New Fishcombines nature writing from Norwegian fjords, the coast of Canada, Icelandic landscapes and the far south of Chile with character-driven literary non-fiction and classic muckraking. The authors started with this question: What happens when you create a new animal and place it in the sea This book will tell you the answer.
Both troubling and encouraging, a well-told tale of environmental activism and citizen action.Kirkus Reviewsabout Recovering a Lost River
Simen Stre (b. 1974) is an investigative reporter who has been published in many languages. He has written six books, on themes including the international chocolate industry, oil states, and a spy in the Norwegian army. His thought-provoking books have been acclaimed and nominated for prizes. Kjetil stli (b. 1975) is a journalist and author. He co-runs the online magazine Harvest, specializing in nature writing. He has received several prizes and awards for his reporting and his four books, and his dbut Cops and Robbers earned him the prestigious Brage Award.