Indoor fish farms in the US mimic salmon’s natural environment

Aquaculture has been the fastest-growing food sector in the world for decades, and people now eat more farmed fish than wild fish. The industry has had to grow. Demand for seafood is soaring and will continue to rise. But the oceans are giving up all they can: Production of wild fish has been flat since about 1990. Fish farming and shellfish production usually spew far less greenhouse gas emissions than the production of beef and other animal protein, but aquaculture can still cause serious environmental problems. Faced with stinging criticism and tighter regulations — and eager to meet demand — fish farmers are trying new ways to boost production and minimize harm. In a warehouse near Miami, large indoor tanks are designed to mimic the natural environment of salmon by establishing the right temperature, the right salinity, and the right lighting. The idea: grow the salmon indoors to reduce exposure to parasites, warming waters, and algae blooms that threaten the fish grown in farms in open waters near shores—and in turn reduce the fish’s impact on the shoreline. Atlantic Sapphire, the parent company of Bluehouse Salmon, says the technology removes some of the downsides that you could have in nature. Damien Claire, Atlantic Sapphire’s chief sales and marketing officer, says the company doesn’t need to vaccinate or medicate their salmon and has lowered the mortality rate of the fish to around 3%—much lower than the industry average of 20%. Raising fish in an indoor, tightly controlled environment has also led to other benefits, he says. The company produces about 3 million salmon a year and hopes to eventually produce 65 million. It’s a promising model, but not easy to follow because the system relies on an uncommon feature of the groundwater near the warehouse’s location: salmon need both fresh and saltwater, and both are found nearby. “I think that here, it’s about inclusion, it’s about trying to be leaders, trying to drive the industry forward, and trying to be as sustainable as we can because feeding the world is going to take more than one single solution,” says Claire. This article was provided by The Associated Press.