Is Wild-Caught Salmon Really Wild-Caught?

If you’ve read some of my articles about nutrition and health, you’ll know that I recommend eating wild-caught Alaskan salmon frequently – because it’s good for you, and because it is far less contaminated that many other types of fish (e.g. swordfish, tuna).

However, it turns out that, even if you take the time and trouble to look for wild-caught rather than farmed salmon, you might not be getting what you were expecting.

Today, I came across this article, which is already well over a year old, that explains the what is occurring and why fish farming in general is putting people’s lives at risk:

https://expand-your-consciousness.com/why-your-wild-salmon-might-really-be-farmed-salmon-from-china/

It seems unlikely to me that the situation has improved any during the past 15 months, although I’m willing to be proven wrong.

For now, then, the following advice from the above article would seem to be the best you can hope for:

“What’s the best way to avoid buying this imposter? Buy your salmon in season between May and September. In season, only 7% of salmon is mislabeled. In the winter months, that small number skyrocketed!“

I would also recommend watching the somewhat long (it’s just over 54 minutes) about fish farming, because it’s a real eye-opener. You can find it near the end of the above-referenced article, but I’ve also included it here:

Although the video does not specifically mention fish farming in the USA, there is no good reason to suspect that the situation is any better here.

For example, fish caught in the waters around Seattle, in the Puget Sound, for example, have been found to be contaminated with all sorts of drugs (e.g. prescription drugs for humans).

And yes, I know these are wild fish, not farmed, but to me, it points to the more general issue about many fish becoming unsafe to eat. Farmed fish may be fed food that is contaminated and they may be dosed up with antibiotics and other chemicals, while wild fish are exposed to the ever-increasing pollutants that we humans dispose of in the waters, but either way, you clearly need to be careful what where you source the fish that you do consume.

I consider myself lucky that I’ve never been much of a fish eater, but for those who are, this is definitely something you need to be aware of, regardless of how you cook it.