Are Farmed Shrimp Toxic?

Seafood farms promote themselves as sustainable solutions to overfishing. But in reality, seafood farms can cause more problems than they can solve. There’s really little difference, in terms of environmental pollution, between land-based feedlots and water-based ones.

Not as Sustainable as You Might Think:

Carnivorous sea animals, such as shrimp, need fish in their diet. Since overfishing has led to declining fish stocks, much of this needed feed protein is sourced from so-called “trash fish,” collected by trawlers off the coast of south east Asia.

Fish that are too small to be edible are indiscriminately caught in bottom-dragging trawling nets and are then “left to rot in the holds of vessels for days or weeks on end,” according to investigators.

This rotting fish is then sold and transported to processing plants, where they’re washed, cooked, and ground into fish meal. Even rare shark species, sea sponges, starfish, and octopi end up as fish feed in this process.

Catching small, immature fish reduces fish stocks. Bigger fish are then left without a suitable food source. The end result is rapidly decreasing fish stocks for human consumption. The entire balance of the ecosystem is being destroyed.

The investigation also found evidence of illegal, toxic pesticides being routinely used to farm shrimp. These pesticides include a chemical sold under the name Hildan, or Endosulfan, which is a broad spectrum insecticide that is banned in more than 80 countries due to its environmental toxicity.

Hildan is known to be particularly toxic to the aquatic ecosystem, impacting the entire food chain, from the smallest to the largest aquatic sea life. In humans, exposure has been linked to brain damage, cancer and Parkinson’s disease. It may also increase the risk of autism.

Antibiotics are also routinely added to the shrimp feed. This is done because of the high population density within the farm, which is much denser than that in nature. This overcrowding can lead to a rapid spreading of a disease, which doesn’t happen in a natural environment. Just as in cattle and poultry, antibiotic use in aquatic farming promotes the development of antibiotic-resistant diseases.

In 2010, a British film crew also uncovered disturbing evidence of “routine adulteration” of shrimp sold to the European market. Shrimp may be secretly injected with dirty water to add weight, which increases profit.

How Can You Tell if Your Seafood Is Sustainably Sourced?

Under the US federal Country of Origin Labeling Law, also known as COOL, fresh seafood must disclose where the food was farmed or caught. However, this rule does not apply to processed seafood, including seafood that is boiled, breaded, or added to packaged meals.

Nearly half of all shrimp sold in the US are processed and therefore do not bear country of origin labels. Restaurants are also exempt from this labeling requirement.

This means that unless you’re buying unprocessed seafood, it’s virtually impossible to tell where it came from.

You can also look for products certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). This certification assures that every component of the manufacturing process, from how the raw materials are harvested to how the product is manufactured , has been scrutinized by MSC and has been independently audited to ensure it meets sustainable standards.

Best Seafood Options: Wild Alaskan and Sockeye Salmon:

It may be apparent to you by now that shrimp farms and fish farms are not viable solutions to overfishing. If anything, they’re making matters worse, by destroying entire marine ecosystems.

Most major waterways in the world are contaminated with mercury, heavy metals and toxic chemicals, such as dioxins, PCBs and other agricultural chemicals that wind up in the environment. This is why, wild-caught Alaskan and sockeye salmon are good choices for your dietary omega 3 fatty acids. The risk of these salmon accumulating high amounts of mercury and other toxins is reduced because of their short life cycle, which is only about three years. Additionally, the bioaccumulation of toxins are also reduced by the fact that they do not feed on other, already contaminated fish, because they live in much cleaner waters than found in many other areas on the planet.

Other low toxicity fish include sardines, anchovies and herring.

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