Nearly half of all seafood consumed around the world comes from fish
farms, says Science Daily.
Increasing seafood consumption has been proposed as part of a
strategy to combat the global epidemics of obesity and diabetes. In
addition, the US Food and Drug Administration and the US
Environmental Protection Agency now recommend pregnant women, nursing
mothers and young children increase their seafood consumption to two to
three servings per week of low-mercury fish.
"While increased
seafood consumption comes with many health benefits, we can't ignore the
clear warning signs that we are rapidly approaching the limits of wild
fish that can be caught," says David C. Love, PhD, MSPH, senior author
of the study and an assistant scientist with the Johns Hopkins Center
for a Livable Future at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public
Health.
"To fill this gap, aquaculture is replacing natural fisheries as
a major source of edible seafood. Many aquaculture methods are safe and
sustainable.
"However, some methods pose unnecessary risks to public
health and deplete natural resources."
Overfishing has depleted
wild fish stocks and damaged marine resources, and fish farms have moved
in to fill some of the gaps. But farmed seafood is not without risk. It
often contains the same contaminants, such as heavy metals, that are
found in nature.
Meanwhile, the fish are given feed medicated with
antibiotics to ward off disease or treated with chemicals, which can end
up in the water supply.
Aquaculture further contributes to the reduction of fish stocks because wild fish are often used for feed.
Read more HERE.
The Aquaculturists
This blog is maintained by The Aquaculturists staff and is supported by the magazine International Aquafeed which is published by Perendale Publishers Ltd.
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