What do you think?
Rate this book
Salmon Wars: The Dark Underbelly of Our Favorite Fish
A Pulitzer Prize-winning correspondent and a former private investigator dive deep into the murky waters of the international salmon farming industry, exposing the unappetizing truth about a fish that is not as good for you as you have been told.
A decade ago, farmed Atlantic salmon replaced tuna as the most popular fish on America’s dinner tables. We are told salmon is healthy and environmentally friendly. The reality is different. Almost all salmon sold in markets and restaurants are raised in floating feedlots that pollute our oceans and risk our health.
In Salmon Wars: The Dark Side of America's Favorite Fish, investigative journalists Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins document how a handful of multinationals transformed salmon farming into our generation’s version of Big Tobacco by concealing health risks and attacking critics. The authors go beneath the water’s surface where millions of salmon are crammed into parasite-plagued cages and fed a chemical-laced diet. The authors document the spread of diseases that threatens the declining population of wild salmon. They take readers inside hatcheries, where young salmon are treated like garbage, and to the farms that threaten our fragile coasts. They draw vivid portraits of characters like the big salmon farmer who poisoned his own backyard, the fly-fishing activist who risked everything to ban salmon farms in the Puget Sound, and the American researcher driven out of Norway for raising alarms about dangerous contaminants in salmon. Finally, the authors chart the future of a salmon farming industry that does not harm the environment or ourselves. What’s at stake, Frantz and Collins explain, is our health, the health of our children, and the health of our planet.
Just as Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation caused people to reexamine their relationship with the Big Mac, the vivid stories, scientific research, and high-stakes finance at the heart of Salmon Wars will inspire readers to make choices that protect our health and our planet.
Includes Photographs
A decade ago, farmed Atlantic salmon replaced tuna as the most popular fish on America’s dinner tables. We are told salmon is healthy and environmentally friendly. The reality is different. Almost all salmon sold in markets and restaurants are raised in floating feedlots that pollute our oceans and risk our health.
In Salmon Wars: The Dark Side of America's Favorite Fish, investigative journalists Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins document how a handful of multinationals transformed salmon farming into our generation’s version of Big Tobacco by concealing health risks and attacking critics. The authors go beneath the water’s surface where millions of salmon are crammed into parasite-plagued cages and fed a chemical-laced diet. The authors document the spread of diseases that threatens the declining population of wild salmon. They take readers inside hatcheries, where young salmon are treated like garbage, and to the farms that threaten our fragile coasts. They draw vivid portraits of characters like the big salmon farmer who poisoned his own backyard, the fly-fishing activist who risked everything to ban salmon farms in the Puget Sound, and the American researcher driven out of Norway for raising alarms about dangerous contaminants in salmon. Finally, the authors chart the future of a salmon farming industry that does not harm the environment or ourselves. What’s at stake, Frantz and Collins explain, is our health, the health of our children, and the health of our planet.
Just as Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation caused people to reexamine their relationship with the Big Mac, the vivid stories, scientific research, and high-stakes finance at the heart of Salmon Wars will inspire readers to make choices that protect our health and our planet.
Includes Photographs
353 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 12, 2022
84 people are currently reading
3734 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
May 8, 2022
3.5 stars. i found this very informative and shocking, but also extremely repetitive. lots of information is repeated multiple times, which is just annoying to read. while the expansive focus on many different companies and players in the salmon farming industry provided a broad overview, i think this book could’ve really benefitted from a central “character” to follow. cooke aquaculture somewhat fits this bill, but i don’t believe they go into enough detail to fulfill that feature.
anyways i really do not want to eat salmon now because everything (even the sustainable options highlighted at the end) is a lose-lose situation! it is so hard to eat in the modern world!!!
anyways i really do not want to eat salmon now because everything (even the sustainable options highlighted at the end) is a lose-lose situation! it is so hard to eat in the modern world!!!
March 31, 2022
This was a shocking expose on the business of "farming" salmon.
People may not realize that the majority of the salmon they buy in their favorite supermarket was actually raised in crowded, unsanitary "fish pens", anchored in the ocean. No room to move, fed with unnatural food, rife with diseases.
Even more dangerous, the fish pens are polluting the traditional native salmon waters, and causing native fish to become diseased and die. The author points out, "As often happens when humans tinker with nature, the law of unintended consequences turned plans for a new industry into a threat to both the environment and to the survival of wild salmon".
The book is loaded with evidence of the problem. A few transnational corporations are the controlling factors in the business (Norway). Using their considerable weight, they bully and threaten governments into allowing the continuation of the disaster. Despite overwhelming evidence, the governments are too afraid of losing jobs, or perhaps losing campaign donations, to act.
As a resident of the Pacific Northwest, and a fisherman, this book really struck home with me. I remember a couple of years ago when one of the fish pens "collapsed" in Puget Sound, releasing thousands and thousands of tainted, sick, and non-native salmon into the water. It's no wonder we have observed the crashing of native salmon in our area.
Thankfully, the authors offer some hope. They discuss efforts and programs in the works to stop the fish pens.
We're up against some powerful people, a true David vs. Goliath battle. Let's hope lots of people read this book and get involved. Or, for their own health and well-being, stop buying these fish pen raised salmon.
Fingers crossed!
People may not realize that the majority of the salmon they buy in their favorite supermarket was actually raised in crowded, unsanitary "fish pens", anchored in the ocean. No room to move, fed with unnatural food, rife with diseases.
Even more dangerous, the fish pens are polluting the traditional native salmon waters, and causing native fish to become diseased and die. The author points out, "As often happens when humans tinker with nature, the law of unintended consequences turned plans for a new industry into a threat to both the environment and to the survival of wild salmon".
The book is loaded with evidence of the problem. A few transnational corporations are the controlling factors in the business (Norway). Using their considerable weight, they bully and threaten governments into allowing the continuation of the disaster. Despite overwhelming evidence, the governments are too afraid of losing jobs, or perhaps losing campaign donations, to act.
As a resident of the Pacific Northwest, and a fisherman, this book really struck home with me. I remember a couple of years ago when one of the fish pens "collapsed" in Puget Sound, releasing thousands and thousands of tainted, sick, and non-native salmon into the water. It's no wonder we have observed the crashing of native salmon in our area.
Thankfully, the authors offer some hope. They discuss efforts and programs in the works to stop the fish pens.
We're up against some powerful people, a true David vs. Goliath battle. Let's hope lots of people read this book and get involved. Or, for their own health and well-being, stop buying these fish pen raised salmon.
Fingers crossed!
October 5, 2023
Wild salmon go blub blub, farmed salmon go bleep blop. Choose the blub blub
January 25, 2023
3.5 Stars!
“What happens underwater tends to stay underwater.”
OK let’s start with a couple of my favourite fish related jokes…Ready?...Okaydokes…What do you call a fish with no eyes?...a fsssshh!...Where do fish keep their money?...In a river bank! (canned laughter).
“Roughly 70% of the world’s salmon comes from crowded cages floating in fragile ocean ecosystems.”
Back in the day, a single species of Atlantic salmon emerged, along with five species of Pacific, Chinook, coho, chum, pink and sockeye. They are anadromous, meaning that they can thrive in both fresh and salt water. Atlantic salmon can survive spawning and repeat the cycle. Pacific are one-timers and die after spawning. Salmon is the most popular fish on the tables of the US and in spite of many beliefs and theories, no one really knows why they leap.
According to the authors Norway is the largest producer of farmed salmon, followed by Chile, Scotland and Canada. You can tell the difference between farmed and wild salmon by examining the scales, apparently farmed salmon display (under a microscope) unique, concentric growth circles showing that they have been fed consistently.
“Scottish government documents showed that Mowi dumped nineteen metric tons of formaldehyde into Scotland’s lochs and inlets over nine months in 2019.”
One of the crucial fundamentals that we need to keep in mind, is that salmon have to eat other, smaller fish, which means tons of other smaller fish have to be caught, which obviously takes vital food away from millions of poorer people around the world who rely on such cheaper forms of protein.
“In 2017, data from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency showed that forty-five lochs in western Scotland has been contaminated by toxic pesticides and other chemicals from seventy salmon farms in 2017.”
Cadmium, PCBs, cypermethrin, lufenuron, plus other dioxins and antibiotics are just some of the delightful ingredients which have been found in both farmed and wild salmon, hmmm Bon apetit! Apparently in 2019 10 million sockeye were expected back to the Fraser River by the Canadian government and yet only 1 million returned.
The authors address many grim and depressing aspects of salmon farming, dispelling many myths and exposing so many harrowing truths. One of the bigger issues is with the millions of salmon who have escaped from their cages over the decades, this presents at least a three-fold problem, you get tainted, sick fish competing with wild ones, eating smaller natives and breeding with wild ones which then creates inferior hybrids and ultimately lessens the natural population. Then there is the devastating impact these tainted fish have on almost everything around them, including orcas, bears and the impact on the native lobster population and its industry. And of course there is the human impact, particular with children.
“The WHO has called antibiotic resistance one of the biggest threats to global health and safe food production because the overuse in humans and animals is accelerating the natural resistance process worldwide and across the food and drug spectrum. ‘Antibiotic resistance leads to longer hospital stays, higher medical costs and increased mortality.’”
Like all the other members of the harm industry (big oil, tobacco, pharma et al), the salmon farming one falls back on the old deny and discredit template. Also a familiar story of government loans, government subsidies and generous tax breaks with little to no regulation emerges. Sound familiar?...
The authors reveal some shocking cases from many countries where scientists who have had the courage to speak out, revealing scientific evidence the cynical playbook is brought out by the corporations who exploit their phenomenal resources and employ the dark arts of lawyers, lobbyists and PR firms to bully, discredit and destroy the lives of people who are merely trying to protect the public and help the environment.
This is a situation that is so desperate that you rely on conservation groups to save wild salmon where governments have repeatedly failed, and so what you end up with is effectively a glorified ransom scheme, where private individuals are having to pay corporate fisheries to leave the fish in the water.
“Cermaq received a permit from the provincial government in British Columbia in 2018 to discharge more than five hundred thousand gallons of a pesticide containing hydrogen peroxide into Clayoquot Sound to fight sea lice.”
So this holds many dark revelations and clearly makes for fairly depressing reading. It is a tad heavy on repetition, particularly in the early stages, but overall this is an accessible, well-researched and important book which looks at the king of fish in a totally different light and I will certainly not look or think about salmon in the same way ever again.
“What happens underwater tends to stay underwater.”
OK let’s start with a couple of my favourite fish related jokes…Ready?...Okaydokes…What do you call a fish with no eyes?...a fsssshh!...Where do fish keep their money?...In a river bank! (canned laughter).
“Roughly 70% of the world’s salmon comes from crowded cages floating in fragile ocean ecosystems.”
Back in the day, a single species of Atlantic salmon emerged, along with five species of Pacific, Chinook, coho, chum, pink and sockeye. They are anadromous, meaning that they can thrive in both fresh and salt water. Atlantic salmon can survive spawning and repeat the cycle. Pacific are one-timers and die after spawning. Salmon is the most popular fish on the tables of the US and in spite of many beliefs and theories, no one really knows why they leap.
According to the authors Norway is the largest producer of farmed salmon, followed by Chile, Scotland and Canada. You can tell the difference between farmed and wild salmon by examining the scales, apparently farmed salmon display (under a microscope) unique, concentric growth circles showing that they have been fed consistently.
“Scottish government documents showed that Mowi dumped nineteen metric tons of formaldehyde into Scotland’s lochs and inlets over nine months in 2019.”
One of the crucial fundamentals that we need to keep in mind, is that salmon have to eat other, smaller fish, which means tons of other smaller fish have to be caught, which obviously takes vital food away from millions of poorer people around the world who rely on such cheaper forms of protein.
“In 2017, data from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency showed that forty-five lochs in western Scotland has been contaminated by toxic pesticides and other chemicals from seventy salmon farms in 2017.”
Cadmium, PCBs, cypermethrin, lufenuron, plus other dioxins and antibiotics are just some of the delightful ingredients which have been found in both farmed and wild salmon, hmmm Bon apetit! Apparently in 2019 10 million sockeye were expected back to the Fraser River by the Canadian government and yet only 1 million returned.
The authors address many grim and depressing aspects of salmon farming, dispelling many myths and exposing so many harrowing truths. One of the bigger issues is with the millions of salmon who have escaped from their cages over the decades, this presents at least a three-fold problem, you get tainted, sick fish competing with wild ones, eating smaller natives and breeding with wild ones which then creates inferior hybrids and ultimately lessens the natural population. Then there is the devastating impact these tainted fish have on almost everything around them, including orcas, bears and the impact on the native lobster population and its industry. And of course there is the human impact, particular with children.
“The WHO has called antibiotic resistance one of the biggest threats to global health and safe food production because the overuse in humans and animals is accelerating the natural resistance process worldwide and across the food and drug spectrum. ‘Antibiotic resistance leads to longer hospital stays, higher medical costs and increased mortality.’”
Like all the other members of the harm industry (big oil, tobacco, pharma et al), the salmon farming one falls back on the old deny and discredit template. Also a familiar story of government loans, government subsidies and generous tax breaks with little to no regulation emerges. Sound familiar?...
The authors reveal some shocking cases from many countries where scientists who have had the courage to speak out, revealing scientific evidence the cynical playbook is brought out by the corporations who exploit their phenomenal resources and employ the dark arts of lawyers, lobbyists and PR firms to bully, discredit and destroy the lives of people who are merely trying to protect the public and help the environment.
This is a situation that is so desperate that you rely on conservation groups to save wild salmon where governments have repeatedly failed, and so what you end up with is effectively a glorified ransom scheme, where private individuals are having to pay corporate fisheries to leave the fish in the water.
“Cermaq received a permit from the provincial government in British Columbia in 2018 to discharge more than five hundred thousand gallons of a pesticide containing hydrogen peroxide into Clayoquot Sound to fight sea lice.”
So this holds many dark revelations and clearly makes for fairly depressing reading. It is a tad heavy on repetition, particularly in the early stages, but overall this is an accessible, well-researched and important book which looks at the king of fish in a totally different light and I will certainly not look or think about salmon in the same way ever again.
March 5, 2023
This book was really educational and I was enthralled the first 30% of it. However, as I continued the same storyline kept unfolding and I was continuously reading old information rather than new exciting concepts. If I rated this off of the beginning, 5 stars, all the way. I did learn a lot though, so if the salmon industry interests you, this is a good jumping-off point.
3 step process to overhaul the salmon production industry:
"First is for consumers to understand the risks and rewards of eating farmed salmon...The second step is transforming individual responsibility into coordinated action...The third step is for the government to stop putting a thumb on the scale when weighing economic interests against public well-being."
Additional resources or learning:
Patagonia's Artishal and Take back Puget Sound both on Youtube
Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch
3 step process to overhaul the salmon production industry:
"First is for consumers to understand the risks and rewards of eating farmed salmon...The second step is transforming individual responsibility into coordinated action...The third step is for the government to stop putting a thumb on the scale when weighing economic interests against public well-being."
Additional resources or learning:
Patagonia's Artishal and Take back Puget Sound both on Youtube
Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch
March 4, 2024
Reading about our environment!
"Salmon Wars: The Dark Underbelly of Our Favorite Fish" by Douglas Frantz & Catherine Collins
I picked it up as a lover of all things aquatic, a worrier of all things climate change and environmental disasters. Throughout the book, I learned about the cost of salmon farming, its effect on the environment, risk to animal welfare and public health.
There was good material- interesting and surprising information, the bones and makings of a good environmental true crime. However, it failed to hold my attention. There was a lack of cohesive flow in the chapters which led to a lot of repetition.
What also bothered me was the way the authors laid out certain facts and studies. Most questionable to me was the statement that exposure to some of the biochemical residue from eating farmed salmon caused autism. Without proper source work done and vaguely worded. "In recent years, scientists have found evidence that exposure to chlorpyrifos residue can harm the developing brains of small children, leading to tremors, poor motor skills, and autism." The authors mention one study of the dangers of chlorpyrifos in the source notes, as well as two studies of neurodevelopmental effects on children from 1990 and 2001, 30 year old evidence...fishy (pun intended).
Later in the chapter, the authors do mention that a developmental neurobiologist said exposure was unlikely to cause autism but that it might increase the likelihood in those predisposed to it through genetics.
Their wording and presentation of the information felt like fearmongering and ableism if I'm honest. This was in the first half of the book and continued to make me question the research for the rest of the book.
In sum, you need to take away from this book that the salmon farming industry leads to overfishing and is inhumane as 15-20% of farmed salmon die every year before harvest. Farmed salmon also has detrimental impacts on the wild salmon populations as escapees from the farms threaten wild salmon populations through competing for food and interbreeding to create a hybrid species that cannot survive in the wild.
For humans, eating farmed salmon is not worth it as many have parasites that, as the authors claim, "are removed with Shop Vacs...and still put on the market". Oh and that orange pink colour that makes salmon look appetizing in the grocery store? Caused by dyes added to the feed. The meat is naturally grey. Salmon who are drug resistant when given antibiotics to treat infections create huge risks for humans who are drug resistant. And infections cause human mortality.
A good reminder from the book: "You are what you eat but you are also what was eaten by what you eat."
2/5 ⭐️
"Salmon Wars: The Dark Underbelly of Our Favorite Fish" by Douglas Frantz & Catherine Collins
I picked it up as a lover of all things aquatic, a worrier of all things climate change and environmental disasters. Throughout the book, I learned about the cost of salmon farming, its effect on the environment, risk to animal welfare and public health.
There was good material- interesting and surprising information, the bones and makings of a good environmental true crime. However, it failed to hold my attention. There was a lack of cohesive flow in the chapters which led to a lot of repetition.
What also bothered me was the way the authors laid out certain facts and studies. Most questionable to me was the statement that exposure to some of the biochemical residue from eating farmed salmon caused autism. Without proper source work done and vaguely worded. "In recent years, scientists have found evidence that exposure to chlorpyrifos residue can harm the developing brains of small children, leading to tremors, poor motor skills, and autism." The authors mention one study of the dangers of chlorpyrifos in the source notes, as well as two studies of neurodevelopmental effects on children from 1990 and 2001, 30 year old evidence...fishy (pun intended).
Later in the chapter, the authors do mention that a developmental neurobiologist said exposure was unlikely to cause autism but that it might increase the likelihood in those predisposed to it through genetics.
Their wording and presentation of the information felt like fearmongering and ableism if I'm honest. This was in the first half of the book and continued to make me question the research for the rest of the book.
In sum, you need to take away from this book that the salmon farming industry leads to overfishing and is inhumane as 15-20% of farmed salmon die every year before harvest. Farmed salmon also has detrimental impacts on the wild salmon populations as escapees from the farms threaten wild salmon populations through competing for food and interbreeding to create a hybrid species that cannot survive in the wild.
For humans, eating farmed salmon is not worth it as many have parasites that, as the authors claim, "are removed with Shop Vacs...and still put on the market". Oh and that orange pink colour that makes salmon look appetizing in the grocery store? Caused by dyes added to the feed. The meat is naturally grey. Salmon who are drug resistant when given antibiotics to treat infections create huge risks for humans who are drug resistant. And infections cause human mortality.
A good reminder from the book: "You are what you eat but you are also what was eaten by what you eat."
2/5 ⭐️
August 1, 2022
Very thorough and informative, this book lays out all the environmental problems open net fish farms create and how companies who use this method keep trying to get away with unsavoury practices by directly lying to governmental agencies and consumers. There are more sustainable methods of farming fish in the works, and lab-grown fish is also underway, but in the meantime, it's important as individuals to know what the options are and then make informed choices, on purpose, rather than led by false advertising.
I do, however, wish that books like this would stop using the word "chemicals" now that it's become a meaningless buzzword evoking green ooze flowing out of unsealed metal barrels marked with the nuclear waste warning symbol. If you mean pesticides, say that. If you mean antibiotics, say that. Saying "and other chemicals" is not helpful anymore.
I do, however, wish that books like this would stop using the word "chemicals" now that it's become a meaningless buzzword evoking green ooze flowing out of unsealed metal barrels marked with the nuclear waste warning symbol. If you mean pesticides, say that. If you mean antibiotics, say that. Saying "and other chemicals" is not helpful anymore.
December 25, 2022
While I don't want to write a review for this book, I will say this: It was a gripping piece of investigative journalism and I enjoyed it quite a lot - it restored my enjoyment of reading non-fiction.
Why am I writing anything when I don't want to review this book? Well, that's because I want to review the (1-star) reviews of this book. [Meta, I know.]
Obviously, (salmon) farming is a political issue - but even after reading this book, I didn't really understand that it was a political issue until I read some of the negative reviews. They are, let's say - and I think I'm being quite generous in my assessment - 'narrow-minded'. I think this is made obvious when you look at the reviews and profiles of those rating it a single star.
-----
1) One person created an account the month this book released to 'review' this book (and I am well aware that putting review in quotes is ironic considering that I am equally guilty of writing a 'review') and only this book; they didn't even mark it as read or anything - and the review was based on their own anecdotal experience: "Having worked in wild commercial fishing and salmon conservation, this book expresses a clear personal bias and not very well informed. Having knowledge of background industry, it is clear the author chose to pick and chose information to support and opinion."
I mean...you, too, are expressing a personal bias, are you not? Let's suppose the authors were writing from a biased anti-farming perspective. That's entirely possible right? Well, even if it is...they kind of have a lot of sources - and many of their sources are independent sources that are not connected to the salmon farming industry, so it seems that their biases are at the very least well supported by fact.
Maybe they're still picking and choosing, you say. Of course: They are picking and choosing sources that are independent of the salmon-farming industry since it appears that the results of studies funded by an industry tend to obfuscate the truth somewhat. Of course you can find evidence saying, "Everything is fine! The oceans are better than they've ever been - and our fish? Our fish are happy! Can you really say wild salmon are happy, expending their energy all the time, getting tired day in and day out, swimming, swimming, swimming? Absolutely not! Those salmon are miserable! Our fish are the happiest fish of all!" - But if that's being said by a guy making mad money by convincing you that you should be happy eating his happy fish, maybe you shouldn't trust it. Just...maybe.
-----
2) One person 'reviewed' this the day after its release, quoting in its entirety (and without providing a source for the quote) a press release from the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition release the day after this book's release - a press release that claims, 'The book falsely claims that "overfishing from the Gulf of Mexico north to the Chesapeake Bay threatens a slender fish called a menhaden," and inaccurately states that menhaden is "an integral player in minimizing algae blooms because it eats phytoplankton." ' The press release further claims, 'In fact, both Atlantic and Gulf menhaden are certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council, which operates the world's most respected global fishery certification program.' [You can read the full press release here and note that this was copied in full by other sites presenting 'news': https://www.accesswire.com/708507/New...]
So, where does the aforementioned MSC get its money? "As an international non-profit organisation, the MSC is fortunate to benefit from the generous support of donors who share our mission and vision. We also receive funds when our partners choose to use the blue MSC label as a mark of the sustainability of their products."
That doesn't sound too bad, right? Well, if you scroll down (don't worry, I will provide a source for you in a moment), you'll see that the funding is not quite as its presented. Donations account for only 8% of funding and the "also receive funds when our partners choose to use the blue MSC label" accounts for 87.8% of income and is billed as "income from charitable activities". So...maybe this (the MSC) isn't the most reputable source that the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition thinks it is. [As promised, here's the source: https://www.msc.org/about-the-msc/our...]
Or...maybe - just maybe, the MFC is in collusion with the MSC? I don't have a source for this, it just sounds thrilling though, doesn't it? I mean, I wish I was just being thrilling and ending on a page-turner, but there's probably a connection that could be dug up - but I'm already spending too much time reviewing this review so I won't try to poke any more holes in this review.
Except - there's just one more thing. This same reviewer also 'reviewed' - okay, we will be fair, they 'reacted' very positively to another book (a glowing 5-star review!) of a book with a rather inflated rating of (at the time of writing this) 4.28 (!) by a group of right-wing anti-maskers drooling over a white man's 'truth' regarding the Covid-19 pandemic - a book that is reviewed by yet another reviewer that writes, "Our society is being run by a bunch of weak minded, delusional, hysterical, irrational women (there is a good reason they are called Karens and not an alternate male gendered name) and weak, feminized men that do not offer the strength, and stability to our society that they are meant to do." [https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...]
Okay, okay - enough about (2), right? We can just agree that maybe they're not the right person to listen to about this book, right? Right.
3) Now, I must say, (3) is a lot better than (2), but really, anything would be, right? (3) makes what might seem a fair criticism to anyone who did not read Salmon Wars - they suggest that "the authors kept trying to connect chemicals to autism which is ridiculous bc autism is genetic from birth not something that can develop from later exposure to chemicals" and they are almost correct.
The authors do not "keep trying" to do anything - they (the authors of Salmon Wars) only mention this in reference to the results of a study being cited and, as far as I recall, only in one chapter related to the use of pesticides. [I fully admit that I may be misremembering the number of times when autism is mentioned; it may, in fact, be more - but what I do remember is that any such mention was only with respect to the results of studies that were referenced.]
(3) is correct in that autism is "from birth[,] not something that can develop from later exposure to chemicals" but I feel that it's important to note that the results of the study suggest that it is the prenatal exposure to these chemicals (pesticides) that can increase the risk of autism. [I do not like this term; the 'risk' of autism makes it sound like there is something risky about autism - and maybe there is something risky for any non-neurotypical person, just as there is for any differently abled person, in that the risk is systemic in that we (that is, society) are not well prepared to care for persons and especially in countries with poor access to health care. I know I'm on a tangent (this entire experience is a tangent, isn't it?) As I was saying, I do not like the term 'risk' but that's the term I am using - it conveys in a simple manner that there is an observed correlation between prenatal exposure to pesticides and autism diagnosis.] Further, merit where its due: (3) is correct that there is a strong genetic component of an autism diagnosis.
So maybe the mention of autism, especially in this respect, is uncomfortable - but I don't think it was an inaccurate way to frame the results of the studies. [Some might argue that it would be wrong to cite these studies without referring to the results in full because that would be construed as cherry-picking.]
-----
So: We have two reviews that are entirely anecdotal and one from a person who almost certainly did not read the book since they just quoted an entire press release without citing their source the day after the book came out (and, frankly, they don't seem the type to read any book the day of it's release).
I know this is an exercise in futility, but since I've come this far, I guess I will press "Post". If you haven't guessed yet, I would recommend this book and I guess I'll give it 5-stars even if it maybe only deserves 4 (since, from my perspective, despite its merits, it does get a bit long-winded and repetitive at times) since these dingbats didn't give it its due.
Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.
Why am I writing anything when I don't want to review this book? Well, that's because I want to review the (1-star) reviews of this book. [Meta, I know.]
Obviously, (salmon) farming is a political issue - but even after reading this book, I didn't really understand that it was a political issue until I read some of the negative reviews. They are, let's say - and I think I'm being quite generous in my assessment - 'narrow-minded'. I think this is made obvious when you look at the reviews and profiles of those rating it a single star.
-----
1) One person created an account the month this book released to 'review' this book (and I am well aware that putting review in quotes is ironic considering that I am equally guilty of writing a 'review') and only this book; they didn't even mark it as read or anything - and the review was based on their own anecdotal experience: "Having worked in wild commercial fishing and salmon conservation, this book expresses a clear personal bias and not very well informed. Having knowledge of background industry, it is clear the author chose to pick and chose information to support and opinion."
I mean...you, too, are expressing a personal bias, are you not? Let's suppose the authors were writing from a biased anti-farming perspective. That's entirely possible right? Well, even if it is...they kind of have a lot of sources - and many of their sources are independent sources that are not connected to the salmon farming industry, so it seems that their biases are at the very least well supported by fact.
Maybe they're still picking and choosing, you say. Of course: They are picking and choosing sources that are independent of the salmon-farming industry since it appears that the results of studies funded by an industry tend to obfuscate the truth somewhat. Of course you can find evidence saying, "Everything is fine! The oceans are better than they've ever been - and our fish? Our fish are happy! Can you really say wild salmon are happy, expending their energy all the time, getting tired day in and day out, swimming, swimming, swimming? Absolutely not! Those salmon are miserable! Our fish are the happiest fish of all!" - But if that's being said by a guy making mad money by convincing you that you should be happy eating his happy fish, maybe you shouldn't trust it. Just...maybe.
-----
2) One person 'reviewed' this the day after its release, quoting in its entirety (and without providing a source for the quote) a press release from the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition release the day after this book's release - a press release that claims, 'The book falsely claims that "overfishing from the Gulf of Mexico north to the Chesapeake Bay threatens a slender fish called a menhaden," and inaccurately states that menhaden is "an integral player in minimizing algae blooms because it eats phytoplankton." ' The press release further claims, 'In fact, both Atlantic and Gulf menhaden are certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council, which operates the world's most respected global fishery certification program.' [You can read the full press release here and note that this was copied in full by other sites presenting 'news': https://www.accesswire.com/708507/New...]
So, where does the aforementioned MSC get its money? "As an international non-profit organisation, the MSC is fortunate to benefit from the generous support of donors who share our mission and vision. We also receive funds when our partners choose to use the blue MSC label as a mark of the sustainability of their products."
That doesn't sound too bad, right? Well, if you scroll down (don't worry, I will provide a source for you in a moment), you'll see that the funding is not quite as its presented. Donations account for only 8% of funding and the "also receive funds when our partners choose to use the blue MSC label" accounts for 87.8% of income and is billed as "income from charitable activities". So...maybe this (the MSC) isn't the most reputable source that the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition thinks it is. [As promised, here's the source: https://www.msc.org/about-the-msc/our...]
Or...maybe - just maybe, the MFC is in collusion with the MSC? I don't have a source for this, it just sounds thrilling though, doesn't it? I mean, I wish I was just being thrilling and ending on a page-turner, but there's probably a connection that could be dug up - but I'm already spending too much time reviewing this review so I won't try to poke any more holes in this review.
Except - there's just one more thing. This same reviewer also 'reviewed' - okay, we will be fair, they 'reacted' very positively to another book (a glowing 5-star review!) of a book with a rather inflated rating of (at the time of writing this) 4.28 (!) by a group of right-wing anti-maskers drooling over a white man's 'truth' regarding the Covid-19 pandemic - a book that is reviewed by yet another reviewer that writes, "Our society is being run by a bunch of weak minded, delusional, hysterical, irrational women (there is a good reason they are called Karens and not an alternate male gendered name) and weak, feminized men that do not offer the strength, and stability to our society that they are meant to do." [https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...]
Okay, okay - enough about (2), right? We can just agree that maybe they're not the right person to listen to about this book, right? Right.
3) Now, I must say, (3) is a lot better than (2), but really, anything would be, right? (3) makes what might seem a fair criticism to anyone who did not read Salmon Wars - they suggest that "the authors kept trying to connect chemicals to autism which is ridiculous bc autism is genetic from birth not something that can develop from later exposure to chemicals" and they are almost correct.
The authors do not "keep trying" to do anything - they (the authors of Salmon Wars) only mention this in reference to the results of a study being cited and, as far as I recall, only in one chapter related to the use of pesticides. [I fully admit that I may be misremembering the number of times when autism is mentioned; it may, in fact, be more - but what I do remember is that any such mention was only with respect to the results of studies that were referenced.]
(3) is correct in that autism is "from birth[,] not something that can develop from later exposure to chemicals" but I feel that it's important to note that the results of the study suggest that it is the prenatal exposure to these chemicals (pesticides) that can increase the risk of autism. [I do not like this term; the 'risk' of autism makes it sound like there is something risky about autism - and maybe there is something risky for any non-neurotypical person, just as there is for any differently abled person, in that the risk is systemic in that we (that is, society) are not well prepared to care for persons and especially in countries with poor access to health care. I know I'm on a tangent (this entire experience is a tangent, isn't it?) As I was saying, I do not like the term 'risk' but that's the term I am using - it conveys in a simple manner that there is an observed correlation between prenatal exposure to pesticides and autism diagnosis.] Further, merit where its due: (3) is correct that there is a strong genetic component of an autism diagnosis.
So maybe the mention of autism, especially in this respect, is uncomfortable - but I don't think it was an inaccurate way to frame the results of the studies. [Some might argue that it would be wrong to cite these studies without referring to the results in full because that would be construed as cherry-picking.]
-----
So: We have two reviews that are entirely anecdotal and one from a person who almost certainly did not read the book since they just quoted an entire press release without citing their source the day after the book came out (and, frankly, they don't seem the type to read any book the day of it's release).
I know this is an exercise in futility, but since I've come this far, I guess I will press "Post". If you haven't guessed yet, I would recommend this book and I guess I'll give it 5-stars even if it maybe only deserves 4 (since, from my perspective, despite its merits, it does get a bit long-winded and repetitive at times) since these dingbats didn't give it its due.
Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.
July 1, 2023
The authors present a comprehensive view of the dangers and ongoing harms of open-net salmon farms in our coastal waters - to the environment, oceans, marine life and humans.
I have to say that the authors are missing a critical piece as to why Canada and BC in particular is having issues with removing open-net pens. Many of the farms are run by Indigenous Nations with land claims / self determination. While wild salmon are migratory and thus impact wild salmon outside of these territories, the operations are run by FNs and employ FNs workers. Thus demonstrating that the Indigenous community is not homogenous, and that many of the communities have widespread and intense disagreements. To make matters worse, large industrial aquaculture companies are capitalizing on this conflict and partnering with FNs running the farms.
The government must follow the science and protect the environment - but also provide valid alternatives and economic diversification such as land-based containment, and ensure that they table a comprehensive job transition plan for these workers.
Overall, the book was a bit repetitive and could’ve probably been 100 pages shorter - but that might also be because of my previous (though very limited) knowledge of the topic. Either way Salmon Wars really does re-affirm how important the work one of my clients does in fighting for the protection of wild salmon. Keep up the good fight WF - end the pens.
I have to say that the authors are missing a critical piece as to why Canada and BC in particular is having issues with removing open-net pens. Many of the farms are run by Indigenous Nations with land claims / self determination. While wild salmon are migratory and thus impact wild salmon outside of these territories, the operations are run by FNs and employ FNs workers. Thus demonstrating that the Indigenous community is not homogenous, and that many of the communities have widespread and intense disagreements. To make matters worse, large industrial aquaculture companies are capitalizing on this conflict and partnering with FNs running the farms.
The government must follow the science and protect the environment - but also provide valid alternatives and economic diversification such as land-based containment, and ensure that they table a comprehensive job transition plan for these workers.
Overall, the book was a bit repetitive and could’ve probably been 100 pages shorter - but that might also be because of my previous (though very limited) knowledge of the topic. Either way Salmon Wars really does re-affirm how important the work one of my clients does in fighting for the protection of wild salmon. Keep up the good fight WF - end the pens.
September 19, 2022
Informative, eye opening, and quite sobering, this book sheds light not only on aquaculture generally but also farm raised salmon more specifically. The authors argue that salmon, the most popular fish in America, is not as healthy and environmentally friendly as marketed. They explore the ecological and environmental impact of salmon farms, the conditions in which farmed salmon are raised, the drugs and chemicals they are treated with and what that means for consumers, government oversight, or lack of compared to other food industries, and how aquaculture companies fight back when criticized. The authors also take a look at companies that are trying to find more sustainable, environmentally friendly ways to raise salmon one of the main challenges being, as is often the case, the cost involved.
The authors bring a definite point of view and clearly state they hope to start a conversation and build a movement to encourage the industry to be more focused on raising healthy, sustainable salmon. Readable, fascinating and occasionally repetitive, this book is a reminder that as consumers it’s important to know where our food comes from so we can make informed decisions about what we are eating.
Thank you to Henry Holt & Co. and Goodreads for the ARC.
The authors bring a definite point of view and clearly state they hope to start a conversation and build a movement to encourage the industry to be more focused on raising healthy, sustainable salmon. Readable, fascinating and occasionally repetitive, this book is a reminder that as consumers it’s important to know where our food comes from so we can make informed decisions about what we are eating.
Thank you to Henry Holt & Co. and Goodreads for the ARC.
Read
February 26, 2025DNF. Probably didn’t give it a good enough shot. But I think I got the point.
June 16, 2025
After reading Salmon Wars: The Dark Underbelly of Our Favorite Fish, salmon is no longer my favorite dinner fish. In fact, the book turned me off eating fish altogether, quite unfortunately, since fish was on my plate at least once a week. Salmon Wars is an exposé on how open net salmon farming in oceans off the coasts of Canada, the United States, Chile, Norway, and other countries threatens wild salmon, disrupts the ecosystem for small fish, and creates unhealthy and frequently deadly conditions for fish raised in ocean net pens. Farmed fish, I learned, is a vast business, specifically for salmon, as it’s one of the most widely consumed protein sources globally, and as a result has led to a growing multi-million-dollar industry. Salmon Wars discusses the key players involved, many of whom add to the multitude of problems associated with salmon farming that include the decline of wild salmon, disruption of ecosystems for other seafood such as lobster, “die-offs” (a term that describes when thousands of farmed salmon die in their pens), hundreds of farmed salmon escaping into the wild causing problems that include crossbreeding with wild salmon, and infestations of sea lice leading to heavy use of antibiotics causing potential antibiotic resistance in humans, among others.
Not all fish for consumption is bad, even though the thrust of the book might make the reader feel that way. The authors mention at the beginning of the book an organization—Seafood Watch—that categorizes seafood for consumption into levels from green (good) through red (bad). Their website is user-friendly and helpful for consumers looking to eat fish responsibly. Still, by the end of the book, I feel I’ll forever be off fish.
The authors write about new developments in salmon farming, specifically the shift towards land based commercial-scale farms. These farms require large pools or pens that operate with highly sophisticated filtration systems and temperature controls to create the ideal conditions for the salmon. These alternatives appear to be the future for salmon farming, the authors write, but aren’t without risk, both financial and environmental. They require significant financial investments, and dealing with the solid waste (fish feces and feed particles) is a concern. One innovative farm, however, seems to have created a novel solution—a system that pulls groundwater into the fish tanks, then uses a two-step filtration system to break down the waste particles and the circulates the treated water to a nearby greenhouse that grows produce. The plants absorb the nutrients and clean the water, which then gets circulated back to the fish tanks. The system developed by the company Superior Fresh recycles 99.9 percent of the water. Impressive. Still, consumers and restaurants balk at purchasing salmon not raised in the ocean, regardless of the sustainability features.
Deciding what or what not to consume is far more complicated than it used to be. For now, fish is off the table in our household. Our protein choices have moved to beans, legumes, eggs, and pasture-raised chicken. I’ll have to avoid any books on the hazards of chicken farming.
Not all fish for consumption is bad, even though the thrust of the book might make the reader feel that way. The authors mention at the beginning of the book an organization—Seafood Watch—that categorizes seafood for consumption into levels from green (good) through red (bad). Their website is user-friendly and helpful for consumers looking to eat fish responsibly. Still, by the end of the book, I feel I’ll forever be off fish.
The authors write about new developments in salmon farming, specifically the shift towards land based commercial-scale farms. These farms require large pools or pens that operate with highly sophisticated filtration systems and temperature controls to create the ideal conditions for the salmon. These alternatives appear to be the future for salmon farming, the authors write, but aren’t without risk, both financial and environmental. They require significant financial investments, and dealing with the solid waste (fish feces and feed particles) is a concern. One innovative farm, however, seems to have created a novel solution—a system that pulls groundwater into the fish tanks, then uses a two-step filtration system to break down the waste particles and the circulates the treated water to a nearby greenhouse that grows produce. The plants absorb the nutrients and clean the water, which then gets circulated back to the fish tanks. The system developed by the company Superior Fresh recycles 99.9 percent of the water. Impressive. Still, consumers and restaurants balk at purchasing salmon not raised in the ocean, regardless of the sustainability features.
Deciding what or what not to consume is far more complicated than it used to be. For now, fish is off the table in our household. Our protein choices have moved to beans, legumes, eggs, and pasture-raised chicken. I’ll have to avoid any books on the hazards of chicken farming.
May 14, 2025
This will really made me think twice the next time I think of buying salmon in the store. An in-depth example of how any industry can become predatory and harmful when given lax regulations, oligopolistic market structures, and biased government/academic experts due to conflicts of interest. It isn’t all doom and gloom though, there are sections on community activism making substantive change and on new technologies decreasing the risk of the salmon industry to truly wild salmon. I knew little about the fish before this, but found it a compelling and engaging read
April 18, 2024
It is a solid look at aquaculture and salmon. The legal battles and the land based forms were really interesting. I think the voice of the prose came off to activist like, that the solutions they offer is more far-fetched than they make you believe, and you might lose of your audience by hammering some of the same facts over and over again. Well researched, and a fun dive into a unique topic.
July 2, 2022
Full disclosure I received this book on a goodreads giveaway. I was intrigued by the source material for this book and I have to admit I was not disappointed. The authors illustrate how American eating habits led the way for Salmon to replace Tuna as the number one fish consumed across America. Much in the vein of The Insider, which detailed a whistle blower in the Tobacco industry, the authors reveal the dirty underbelly of the salmon industry. The authors clearly outline the disturbing amount of unhealthy contamination that exists in the industry, and literally inside the fish. Much like the greed of big tobacco, the reader is taken on a journey that clearly shows this industry needs effective regulation that does not currently exist. Along the way several colorful characters are revealed. Some of these characters, like the activist who risked it all to ban hatcheries in Puget Sound are the good guys. However, most like big tobacco are only in it for profit and could care less about the health of the fish, the species, or the Americans that consume this tasty fish. If you are looking for a book that exposes the raw greed of the salmon industry then this book is for you.
January 3, 2025
A really good in depth look at the salmon farming industry. This helped me understand the industry, where our salmon comes from and the impact on the environment. I also really enjoyed the in-depth discussions on policy and on individuals standing up to large corporations to protect the planet.
October 5, 2025
Picked this up at the Ucluelet aquarium during a trip out West — very eye opening read about the conditions at open net salmon farms and negative environmental impacts. I found the writing to be very repetitive, but even with that, it gave me a lot to think about and is going to have me change my grocery habits.
December 18, 2025
If you eat fish and enjoy it, read this book. Please.
July 3, 2025
Wow, after reading this book I want to do my best never to eat farm raised salmon again, only wild salmon. Very informative book on the history of salmon aquaculture, the methods employed for maintaining these open net pens. Included are the problems associated with rearing salmon this way, including diseases, lice manifestations, fouling and waste produced in the pens that potentially could harm the surrounding waters. A real eye opening read.
July 2, 2024
“You are what you eat - and you are what the fish you eat, eats.” 🐟🍣
Do you ever avoid a book for ages because you know you’re going to hate what it says? That was me and SALMON WARS: The Dark Underbelly of Our Favorite Fish by Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins. This one came highly recommended from a few other bookstagrammers (@ilikebooksalatte and @treatyoshelvess) but I definitely kept pushing it off because I love(d) salmon sushi a little too much.
Now that I’ve read it…ugh. Will I ever eat salmon again? While it can be a bit repetitive, this was a searing piece of journalism that discussed the often disgusting and usually unethical world of salmon farming and aquaculture, and it’s impact on the wild salmon population and surrounding ecosystems.
For nonfiction, it was a clear and informative read - without getting too lost in the science (at least for someone like me that is not typically the best STEM student). And, especially in the third part of the book, they do offer a look at some positive changes activists and farming innovations have been able to accomplish - adding a bit of hope to an overwhelmingly dire situation.
Our choice of food continues to negatively impact the natural world and our own bodies - and it continues to be wild to me that people are either left in the dark about these impacts, or actively ignore the available information.
Begging you to pick up this book - especially if you enjoy environmental reads…and if you are a salmon lover.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C8POrOEANxf/
Do you ever avoid a book for ages because you know you’re going to hate what it says? That was me and SALMON WARS: The Dark Underbelly of Our Favorite Fish by Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins. This one came highly recommended from a few other bookstagrammers (@ilikebooksalatte and @treatyoshelvess) but I definitely kept pushing it off because I love(d) salmon sushi a little too much.
Now that I’ve read it…ugh. Will I ever eat salmon again? While it can be a bit repetitive, this was a searing piece of journalism that discussed the often disgusting and usually unethical world of salmon farming and aquaculture, and it’s impact on the wild salmon population and surrounding ecosystems.
For nonfiction, it was a clear and informative read - without getting too lost in the science (at least for someone like me that is not typically the best STEM student). And, especially in the third part of the book, they do offer a look at some positive changes activists and farming innovations have been able to accomplish - adding a bit of hope to an overwhelmingly dire situation.
Our choice of food continues to negatively impact the natural world and our own bodies - and it continues to be wild to me that people are either left in the dark about these impacts, or actively ignore the available information.
Begging you to pick up this book - especially if you enjoy environmental reads…and if you are a salmon lover.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C8POrOEANxf/
March 7, 2024
Fascinating at times, and very eye-opening. However, it is very repetitive and could easily have been edited down to 100 pages.
January 13, 2023
I stopped eating salmon two (ish) years ago because of a few articles and podcasts that scratched the surface of the food's environmental impact and the widespread disease in salmon pens. "Salmon Wars," has solidified my decision to cut farmed salmon out of my diet for many reasons, but these are the most important:
1. "You are what you eat - and you are what the fish you eat, eats" - Farmed salmon's feed is a collective of ingredients containing unnatural matter, inflammatory materials, and PCBs. PCBs are fat soluble, and the fat concentration in farmed salmon (much fattier than wild) allows for PCBs to bond strongly, which, you guessed it, the consumers congest. Food should be nourishing and delicious, not a vessel for toxic chemicals to enter your body. We are exposed to enough microplastics and toxic matter and we should not be purchasing food marketed as "healthy" when it's the opposite (read this book to understand how the salmon industry has paralleled its marketing to Big Tobacco).
2. Environmental impact: The list is infinite, but the most upsetting is fish farms' effect on natural ecosystems. Farmed salmon is diminishing wild salmon populations because oceanic farmed fish spread infectious sea lice, pen leaks introduce farmed fish into wild populations which then take up resources, and scientists have correlated decreases in other oceanic populations like lobsters in areas with salmon farms.
3. Farmed salmon is not an effective or sustainable food system: This book reported that many salmon pens lose more salmon than yield, meaning the energy, water, resources, and time going into the production of salmon is to output a majority dead crop. A farmed salmon's feed is processed small "bait" fish like anchovies and grains. These "bait" fish are a dominating food source for many poor and undeveloped countries. These populations are experiencing a radical decline in their food source because large companies are overfishing these bait species for salmon feed...a feed going to support the yielding of a dead crop! Farmed salmon is taking away underrepresented people's access to food and nutrition.
The industry does not alter profitable behavior (which salmon is) without coordinated public effort and strong government action - it's up to us to recognize this industry is offering more harm than good and find other alternatives. Great options include smaller bait fish like wild sardines, bivalves that actively filter our oceans or ethically sourced fish that is wild-caught.
1. "You are what you eat - and you are what the fish you eat, eats" - Farmed salmon's feed is a collective of ingredients containing unnatural matter, inflammatory materials, and PCBs. PCBs are fat soluble, and the fat concentration in farmed salmon (much fattier than wild) allows for PCBs to bond strongly, which, you guessed it, the consumers congest. Food should be nourishing and delicious, not a vessel for toxic chemicals to enter your body. We are exposed to enough microplastics and toxic matter and we should not be purchasing food marketed as "healthy" when it's the opposite (read this book to understand how the salmon industry has paralleled its marketing to Big Tobacco).
2. Environmental impact: The list is infinite, but the most upsetting is fish farms' effect on natural ecosystems. Farmed salmon is diminishing wild salmon populations because oceanic farmed fish spread infectious sea lice, pen leaks introduce farmed fish into wild populations which then take up resources, and scientists have correlated decreases in other oceanic populations like lobsters in areas with salmon farms.
3. Farmed salmon is not an effective or sustainable food system: This book reported that many salmon pens lose more salmon than yield, meaning the energy, water, resources, and time going into the production of salmon is to output a majority dead crop. A farmed salmon's feed is processed small "bait" fish like anchovies and grains. These "bait" fish are a dominating food source for many poor and undeveloped countries. These populations are experiencing a radical decline in their food source because large companies are overfishing these bait species for salmon feed...a feed going to support the yielding of a dead crop! Farmed salmon is taking away underrepresented people's access to food and nutrition.
The industry does not alter profitable behavior (which salmon is) without coordinated public effort and strong government action - it's up to us to recognize this industry is offering more harm than good and find other alternatives. Great options include smaller bait fish like wild sardines, bivalves that actively filter our oceans or ethically sourced fish that is wild-caught.
July 13, 2022
Full of misinformation. “Yesterday, Macmillan Publishers released Salmon Wars, a factually questionable book by former Los Angeles Times managing editor Douglas Frantz and former journalist turned private writer Catherine Collins. The book falsely claims that "overfishing from the Gulf of Mexico north to the Chesapeake Bay threatens a slender fish called a menhaden," and inaccurately states that menhaden is "an integral player in minimizing algae blooms because it eats phytoplankton."
According to the February 2020 stock assessment accepted by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the Congressionally-chartered interstate compact that regulates shared migratory fishery resources among East Coast states, Atlantic menhaden is neither overfished nor is overfishing occurring. A simple cursory review of the assessment clearly illustrates that the Atlantic menhaden population has not been overfished in several decades. Similarly, in 2021, the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission found that the "Gulf of Mexico Gulf Menhaden stock is not experiencing overfishing and is not overfished.”
In fact, both Atlantic and Gulf menhaden are certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council, which operates the world’s most respected global fishery certification program. This designation indicates that the stock is "fished in a way that does not threaten the population's long-term health and minimizes the damaging effects of fishing to the surrounding wildlife and ecosystem."
Mr. Frantz and Ms. Collins also continued to misinform their audience by making the oft-repeated claim that menhaden minimize algae blooms. This statement was discredited in a study conducted by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at the College of William and Mary that proved menhaden do not improve overall water quality in the Chesapeake Bay. The study examined "the amount of phytoplankton and nitrogen consumed and excreted by small groups of juvenile and adult menhaden during 6-hour periods," and found that “older menhaden hardly fed on phytoplankton at all."
The study, published in the February 22, 2010, issue of the Marine Ecology Progress Series, concluded that "based on [their] results as well as ecosystem modeling simulations, menhaden do not appear to represent a significant mechanism for removing nutrient inputs to the Bay."
According to the February 2020 stock assessment accepted by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the Congressionally-chartered interstate compact that regulates shared migratory fishery resources among East Coast states, Atlantic menhaden is neither overfished nor is overfishing occurring. A simple cursory review of the assessment clearly illustrates that the Atlantic menhaden population has not been overfished in several decades. Similarly, in 2021, the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission found that the "Gulf of Mexico Gulf Menhaden stock is not experiencing overfishing and is not overfished.”
In fact, both Atlantic and Gulf menhaden are certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council, which operates the world’s most respected global fishery certification program. This designation indicates that the stock is "fished in a way that does not threaten the population's long-term health and minimizes the damaging effects of fishing to the surrounding wildlife and ecosystem."
Mr. Frantz and Ms. Collins also continued to misinform their audience by making the oft-repeated claim that menhaden minimize algae blooms. This statement was discredited in a study conducted by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at the College of William and Mary that proved menhaden do not improve overall water quality in the Chesapeake Bay. The study examined "the amount of phytoplankton and nitrogen consumed and excreted by small groups of juvenile and adult menhaden during 6-hour periods," and found that “older menhaden hardly fed on phytoplankton at all."
The study, published in the February 22, 2010, issue of the Marine Ecology Progress Series, concluded that "based on [their] results as well as ecosystem modeling simulations, menhaden do not appear to represent a significant mechanism for removing nutrient inputs to the Bay."
February 14, 2025
Salmon farms bred lice that that kills the fish and can be transmitted to wild salmon. Salmon farms leak salmon. Salmon farms create “dead” zones below and around the farm chasing other sea life out of the area. Certain pesticides used by salmon farmers kill crustaceans like lobster, crab, and shrimp. You’ll learn all this in the first chapter of the first section in Collins book. You’ll also learn it in the third, fifth, and seventh. Plus, the intervening chapters.
This redundancy eroded by interest in the book. I’m left thinking this may have originally been a series of articles ran across time so the author didn’t know if the reader started at the beginning or jumped into the story at the article – hence innumerable repetition. If this was the case then the editor failed Collins.
Despite this, I’m now more informed if I shop for farmed salmon. Look for green scores on the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program Collins tells us about. Look for farmed salmon raised on terra firma in farms located in Florida (Atlantic Sapphire) or Wisconsin (Superior Fresh) that Collins also writes about.
Living on the west coast I’m happy to say much of the salmon I consume is wild rather than farmed. And Washington banned water-based salmon farms after one collapsed to protect indigenous runs.
Three and one-half stars if you aggressively jump around to hit the important sections, less if you read it cover-to-cover.
This redundancy eroded by interest in the book. I’m left thinking this may have originally been a series of articles ran across time so the author didn’t know if the reader started at the beginning or jumped into the story at the article – hence innumerable repetition. If this was the case then the editor failed Collins.
Despite this, I’m now more informed if I shop for farmed salmon. Look for green scores on the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program Collins tells us about. Look for farmed salmon raised on terra firma in farms located in Florida (Atlantic Sapphire) or Wisconsin (Superior Fresh) that Collins also writes about.
Living on the west coast I’m happy to say much of the salmon I consume is wild rather than farmed. And Washington banned water-based salmon farms after one collapsed to protect indigenous runs.
Three and one-half stars if you aggressively jump around to hit the important sections, less if you read it cover-to-cover.
August 18, 2025
My thanks to Goodreads and Henry Holt for an advance copy of this book that looks at an industry that promises much about its sustainability, but is actually causing severe environmental damage, damage that might be impossible to come back from.
Everyone likes to think they are eating healthy, but few look at the impact their healthy diets are having on the environment. Almonds take a tremendous amount of water, as do avocados, and yet few want to give up thief fancy coffee drinks or avocado toasts for lunch. We do only so much research in America, mostly to prove ourselves right, going no further. If a business says is is sustainable, makes a nice profit, and delivers a bit of food that tastes good, well keep it coming. Not to surprise anybody, but multi-million dollar companies usually don't tell the truth. Governments are making to much in taxes, kickbacks, bribes and jobs for constituents to care. Or they fired the department in charge if reading this in America. Probably all of the above. And yet there are people trying to make a difference. They just need to be heard. Salmon Wars: The Dark Underbelly of Our Favorite Fish by Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins is a look at an industry that pretends to be better that others in the fishing industry, but one that is as destructive, unhealthy, and full of lies and deceit as as most other companies, with longer lasting environmental impacts.
The book begins with a run down of what the salmon farm industry promises, and what it actually delivers. Runs are destroyed, salmon are lost, and yet many still believe this is a functional system that makes a profit, and is good for the environment. It does not take long for the reader to decide that maybe fish shouldn't be what's for dinner anymore. The authors look at the corporations, the attempts to corner the world of salmon fishing, the rise of salmon farms and follow the money, which goes into a small amount of pockets, but with very large amounts. Caught on the line are a lot of interesting characters, some that mean well, some that don't care, and a few that are trying to make a difference, and why they are doing what they do. This is a lonely position to make, as there are good jobs, good taxes, and a lot of money in the salmon farm industry. One that seems to get bigger as even more salmon are killed for a variety of reasons.
The book is well researched and well written, not surprising as one author has won a Pulitzer and the other was a private investigator. The research is excellent, pages of facts, figures, environmental statements, and lots of proof to back up their story. Which is pretty gross in a lot of places. Reading these books, I am surprised I can even eat food anymore. I do know I will be skipping this kind of fish. There is a lot to take in, and the writing does a good job of explaining everything in a way that is easy to follow, and easy in many ways to stop eating.
We need more books like this, but I can see how hard it must be, as few want to talk, governments side with corporations, and people just don't want to know. An important book that I hope will change a lot of people's minds, and even better some laws.
Everyone likes to think they are eating healthy, but few look at the impact their healthy diets are having on the environment. Almonds take a tremendous amount of water, as do avocados, and yet few want to give up thief fancy coffee drinks or avocado toasts for lunch. We do only so much research in America, mostly to prove ourselves right, going no further. If a business says is is sustainable, makes a nice profit, and delivers a bit of food that tastes good, well keep it coming. Not to surprise anybody, but multi-million dollar companies usually don't tell the truth. Governments are making to much in taxes, kickbacks, bribes and jobs for constituents to care. Or they fired the department in charge if reading this in America. Probably all of the above. And yet there are people trying to make a difference. They just need to be heard. Salmon Wars: The Dark Underbelly of Our Favorite Fish by Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins is a look at an industry that pretends to be better that others in the fishing industry, but one that is as destructive, unhealthy, and full of lies and deceit as as most other companies, with longer lasting environmental impacts.
The book begins with a run down of what the salmon farm industry promises, and what it actually delivers. Runs are destroyed, salmon are lost, and yet many still believe this is a functional system that makes a profit, and is good for the environment. It does not take long for the reader to decide that maybe fish shouldn't be what's for dinner anymore. The authors look at the corporations, the attempts to corner the world of salmon fishing, the rise of salmon farms and follow the money, which goes into a small amount of pockets, but with very large amounts. Caught on the line are a lot of interesting characters, some that mean well, some that don't care, and a few that are trying to make a difference, and why they are doing what they do. This is a lonely position to make, as there are good jobs, good taxes, and a lot of money in the salmon farm industry. One that seems to get bigger as even more salmon are killed for a variety of reasons.
The book is well researched and well written, not surprising as one author has won a Pulitzer and the other was a private investigator. The research is excellent, pages of facts, figures, environmental statements, and lots of proof to back up their story. Which is pretty gross in a lot of places. Reading these books, I am surprised I can even eat food anymore. I do know I will be skipping this kind of fish. There is a lot to take in, and the writing does a good job of explaining everything in a way that is easy to follow, and easy in many ways to stop eating.
We need more books like this, but I can see how hard it must be, as few want to talk, governments side with corporations, and people just don't want to know. An important book that I hope will change a lot of people's minds, and even better some laws.
August 28, 2025
The next time you want to eat salmon, you might want to consider first where your salmon came from. Why? Because most likely, you're getting a salmon from an open-sea salmon feedlot. And why was that a bad thing? Because you're probably going to eat a piece of meat from an antibiotics and pesticides laden, lice infested, and also likely toxic fish (it might also be a mutant fish if GM salmon became more widely spread since the writing of this book).
You might wonder whether it was really that bad, but as history has proven time and again, rich people has no conscience, big company even more so. If you ask whether a multi million dollar company would sell toxic product to public for profit, the answer was a resounding yes as attested by tobacco company.
In search of more profits, the open sea salmon feedlot would try to cram as much salmon as possible, triggering infestation of sea lice and outbreak of diseases. In order to combat the sea lice and the diseases, the company would dump tons of pesticides and antibiotics, which accumulate in the body of the salmons and killing other marine creatures. Some company would even resort using banned pesticides or pesticides that came with a strict warning that any marine creature treated with it was not fit for human consumption for at least 12 months afterwards.
There were a few other options though, catching a wild salmon yourself (stores often labelled farmed salmon as wild salmon so don't believe a simple label) or buying a salmon from a land based salmon farm. Land based salmon farm was raised in a closed loop containment so it did not require any pesticides or antibiotics, it also won't spread sea lice and disease to wild salmon, and there was no risk of escapes so again there was less risk to wild salmon.
But both sea based and land based salmon farming presented another problem, salmon were carnivore and almost 90% of foraged/trash fish caught by the fishing industry were processed to become salmon (or other carnivores) feed or pet food. Those were fishes that were supposed to feed local fishermen and their families (most of them likely lived in impoverished condition) and the critically endangered wild salmon. So by eating farmed salmon, you're contributing to an industry that literally stole food from those who needed it the most. To be fair, efforts were made to reduce the wild caught content, but replacing it with plant based or other animal by products had its own problems.
Personally, I would quit eating salmon unless I knew for certain that it did not come from a salmon feedlot, and I would also reduce the amount and frequency of eating salmon as much as I can. Recommended to anyone concerned about marine life and the effect of salmon consumption on human health (especially to children).
You might wonder whether it was really that bad, but as history has proven time and again, rich people has no conscience, big company even more so. If you ask whether a multi million dollar company would sell toxic product to public for profit, the answer was a resounding yes as attested by tobacco company.
In search of more profits, the open sea salmon feedlot would try to cram as much salmon as possible, triggering infestation of sea lice and outbreak of diseases. In order to combat the sea lice and the diseases, the company would dump tons of pesticides and antibiotics, which accumulate in the body of the salmons and killing other marine creatures. Some company would even resort using banned pesticides or pesticides that came with a strict warning that any marine creature treated with it was not fit for human consumption for at least 12 months afterwards.
There were a few other options though, catching a wild salmon yourself (stores often labelled farmed salmon as wild salmon so don't believe a simple label) or buying a salmon from a land based salmon farm. Land based salmon farm was raised in a closed loop containment so it did not require any pesticides or antibiotics, it also won't spread sea lice and disease to wild salmon, and there was no risk of escapes so again there was less risk to wild salmon.
But both sea based and land based salmon farming presented another problem, salmon were carnivore and almost 90% of foraged/trash fish caught by the fishing industry were processed to become salmon (or other carnivores) feed or pet food. Those were fishes that were supposed to feed local fishermen and their families (most of them likely lived in impoverished condition) and the critically endangered wild salmon. So by eating farmed salmon, you're contributing to an industry that literally stole food from those who needed it the most. To be fair, efforts were made to reduce the wild caught content, but replacing it with plant based or other animal by products had its own problems.
Personally, I would quit eating salmon unless I knew for certain that it did not come from a salmon feedlot, and I would also reduce the amount and frequency of eating salmon as much as I can. Recommended to anyone concerned about marine life and the effect of salmon consumption on human health (especially to children).
September 29, 2022
“Salmon Wars” an expose into the murky world of salmon aquaculture, the damage done by the industry around the world, and what can be done about it.
The planet is running out of fish, at a time that populations are growing, incomes are generally rising globally, and the demand for fish-based protein is growing.
One solution to overfishing are ocean-based fish farms, such as those found in Norway, Chile, America, and Canada. While these Atlantic salmon fish farms help feed the world, they have also caused numerous problems, including:
1. Poor treatment and abuse of farmed fish.
2. Disease among the farmed fish.
3. Antibiotics in the food systems to combat some of these diseases. (These additives also reduce their effectiveness of antibiotics in humans)
4. Spreading diseases and parasites including sea lice to wild salmon.
5. Health risks to humans who eat both the salmon and indirectly the feed and chemicals (e.g., PCBs) in the feed for these farmed fish.
6. Interbreeding of farm grown salmon with wild salmon which is seen to reduce the hardiness of the indigenous species.
7. Death and destruction of habitats for other sea creatures e.g.,lobsters and shell-fish and large fish predators including tuna and Killer Whales.
8. Wiping out smaller fish to feed these penned salmon. This also hurts the lives of fishermen in lower-income nations.
The book also presents ways to farm salmon more humanely and sustainably by new solutions including land-based farming using freshwater only, locating fish farms in deeper waters where currents can carry away the waste and reduce the impact on shore creatures and developing alternative feed (e.g., insect based) for these farmed salmon.
Last, Salmon Wars presents a three-step solution to moving to a better way to farm salmon including:
1. Consumer understanding of the rewards and risks of eating farmed salmon.
2. Consumer movement to require salmon farmers to better protect the environment and ensure the health of their fish and consumers.
3. Governments to look more at public well-being and environmental impact that on the few new jobs created by fish farms.
I liked the logical solid approach the book took. It was well researched, not overly scientific, and systematically moved to its conclusion about how to improve the farming of Atlantic salmon, globally.
The book was also quite well written and easy to read.
On the negative side I always feel that pictures help the reader better understand the points being made and that the authors could have added some in for context.
This was a good read. I recommend it.
The planet is running out of fish, at a time that populations are growing, incomes are generally rising globally, and the demand for fish-based protein is growing.
One solution to overfishing are ocean-based fish farms, such as those found in Norway, Chile, America, and Canada. While these Atlantic salmon fish farms help feed the world, they have also caused numerous problems, including:
1. Poor treatment and abuse of farmed fish.
2. Disease among the farmed fish.
3. Antibiotics in the food systems to combat some of these diseases. (These additives also reduce their effectiveness of antibiotics in humans)
4. Spreading diseases and parasites including sea lice to wild salmon.
5. Health risks to humans who eat both the salmon and indirectly the feed and chemicals (e.g., PCBs) in the feed for these farmed fish.
6. Interbreeding of farm grown salmon with wild salmon which is seen to reduce the hardiness of the indigenous species.
7. Death and destruction of habitats for other sea creatures e.g.,lobsters and shell-fish and large fish predators including tuna and Killer Whales.
8. Wiping out smaller fish to feed these penned salmon. This also hurts the lives of fishermen in lower-income nations.
The book also presents ways to farm salmon more humanely and sustainably by new solutions including land-based farming using freshwater only, locating fish farms in deeper waters where currents can carry away the waste and reduce the impact on shore creatures and developing alternative feed (e.g., insect based) for these farmed salmon.
Last, Salmon Wars presents a three-step solution to moving to a better way to farm salmon including:
1. Consumer understanding of the rewards and risks of eating farmed salmon.
2. Consumer movement to require salmon farmers to better protect the environment and ensure the health of their fish and consumers.
3. Governments to look more at public well-being and environmental impact that on the few new jobs created by fish farms.
I liked the logical solid approach the book took. It was well researched, not overly scientific, and systematically moved to its conclusion about how to improve the farming of Atlantic salmon, globally.
The book was also quite well written and easy to read.
On the negative side I always feel that pictures help the reader better understand the points being made and that the authors could have added some in for context.
This was a good read. I recommend it.
July 15, 2022
This review is based on an advance reader copy I got through a Goodreads giveaway.
This was a really eye-opening book. I saw some salmon farms while on vacation in New Brunswick a few years ago, and they do look peaceful from above. I had no idea what they were like under the water!
As the authors say, most people don't think about where the salmon in grocery stores come from and I am no exception. Admittedly, I don't eat seafood at all (I hate the taste). Because of this, my interest in this book was purely idle curiosity, but wow! I had no idea how bad the industry was for both the fish and the environment! AND tax dollars go to support this industry! I may not eat salmon, but as a nature lover and occasional scuba diver, I realize after reading this that we should ALL care about this issue.
That being said, the writing in this book wasn't great. It was poorly organized, jumped around a lot, and was often repetitive. Especially in Part 1, each chapter seems to start off on the subject in the chapter heading, but then wanders around, repeating a few statements without elaborating on them.
Also be aware that this book seems more like a literature review and overall update on the status of the industry with some interviews thrown in than an in depth investigation into anything. The closest the authors get to in depth reporting was in Part 2, when discussing the 2017 collapse of the farm in Washington state. Here, the authors seem to find their stride and this section is excellent.
The authors state at the beginning of the source notes that they avoided footnotes as this wasn't meant to be an academic book. However I think that this book could have benefitted from a bit more rigor. Overly broad statements not backed up by sources really irked me, such as: scientists say, biologists fear, studies show, and according to biologists. The authors are journalists. Not scientists. They didn't come up with these thoughts themselves, and should really cite at least one source for each in the notes.
Overall, this is a good book that could have been great with some more heavy-handed editing.
This was a really eye-opening book. I saw some salmon farms while on vacation in New Brunswick a few years ago, and they do look peaceful from above. I had no idea what they were like under the water!
As the authors say, most people don't think about where the salmon in grocery stores come from and I am no exception. Admittedly, I don't eat seafood at all (I hate the taste). Because of this, my interest in this book was purely idle curiosity, but wow! I had no idea how bad the industry was for both the fish and the environment! AND tax dollars go to support this industry! I may not eat salmon, but as a nature lover and occasional scuba diver, I realize after reading this that we should ALL care about this issue.
That being said, the writing in this book wasn't great. It was poorly organized, jumped around a lot, and was often repetitive. Especially in Part 1, each chapter seems to start off on the subject in the chapter heading, but then wanders around, repeating a few statements without elaborating on them.
Also be aware that this book seems more like a literature review and overall update on the status of the industry with some interviews thrown in than an in depth investigation into anything. The closest the authors get to in depth reporting was in Part 2, when discussing the 2017 collapse of the farm in Washington state. Here, the authors seem to find their stride and this section is excellent.
The authors state at the beginning of the source notes that they avoided footnotes as this wasn't meant to be an academic book. However I think that this book could have benefitted from a bit more rigor. Overly broad statements not backed up by sources really irked me, such as: scientists say, biologists fear, studies show, and according to biologists. The authors are journalists. Not scientists. They didn't come up with these thoughts themselves, and should really cite at least one source for each in the notes.
Overall, this is a good book that could have been great with some more heavy-handed editing.
August 7, 2022
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book via Goodreads giveaway.
I'm blown away by the amount of information I learned from this book. I had briefly heard about the problems with the salmon farming industry over the last few years, most recently while watching Boston Legal on Hulu. When I read the description for this book, I was hooked and immediately wanted to read it.
My copy of this book is marked up with green highlighter. There's so much information to unpack while reading. There was no way I could have gotten through without marking up the important parts.
It's disturbing to read about the inhumane treatment of animals, including fish. This book did a great job of exposing the horrific lives farmed salmon lead. The authors did this in a way so as not to harp too much on whether or not their treatment is ethical. They give you the facts. Even though I believe that fish shouldn't be farmed in this way at all, and I am completely against factory farms, I enjoyed the way the authors laid out the facts without getting muddled in personal preferences. They backed up any opinions they did share with studies. I also appreciate that when describing the physical deformities these fish can have, the authors didn't include photos. I don't think I would have been able to get through the book had that been included.
At times, I couldn't (and didn't want to) believe what I was reading. It terrifies me to know that I've blindly consumed salmon for years and had no idea about the harmful chemicals that came with those meals. And yes, you can go into a supermarket and find salmon that is marked as "organic." But did you know what the US has no standard for what that entails? It seems that any company can claim their salmon is organic regardless of what it was fed, where it was raised, or what chemicals were used on it. And yes, you can find salmon that is labeled as "wild caught." However, studies have shown that most of this salmon is actually produced in salmon farms. Only 10% of salmon is actually wild.
I learned so much from this book. If you're on the fence about whether to pick up a copy, I would suggest reading it. Unless you've done extensive research on salmon farming, I'm sure there's something you will learn in this book.
No, I will not be eating salmon in the near future. There will have to be major changes in this industry before I go near salmon again.
I'm blown away by the amount of information I learned from this book. I had briefly heard about the problems with the salmon farming industry over the last few years, most recently while watching Boston Legal on Hulu. When I read the description for this book, I was hooked and immediately wanted to read it.
My copy of this book is marked up with green highlighter. There's so much information to unpack while reading. There was no way I could have gotten through without marking up the important parts.
It's disturbing to read about the inhumane treatment of animals, including fish. This book did a great job of exposing the horrific lives farmed salmon lead. The authors did this in a way so as not to harp too much on whether or not their treatment is ethical. They give you the facts. Even though I believe that fish shouldn't be farmed in this way at all, and I am completely against factory farms, I enjoyed the way the authors laid out the facts without getting muddled in personal preferences. They backed up any opinions they did share with studies. I also appreciate that when describing the physical deformities these fish can have, the authors didn't include photos. I don't think I would have been able to get through the book had that been included.
At times, I couldn't (and didn't want to) believe what I was reading. It terrifies me to know that I've blindly consumed salmon for years and had no idea about the harmful chemicals that came with those meals. And yes, you can go into a supermarket and find salmon that is marked as "organic." But did you know what the US has no standard for what that entails? It seems that any company can claim their salmon is organic regardless of what it was fed, where it was raised, or what chemicals were used on it. And yes, you can find salmon that is labeled as "wild caught." However, studies have shown that most of this salmon is actually produced in salmon farms. Only 10% of salmon is actually wild.
I learned so much from this book. If you're on the fence about whether to pick up a copy, I would suggest reading it. Unless you've done extensive research on salmon farming, I'm sure there's something you will learn in this book.
No, I will not be eating salmon in the near future. There will have to be major changes in this industry before I go near salmon again.
August 28, 2022
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.
Salmon Wars is an expose of industrial salmon farming, an outrageously profitable and exploitative business that's producing largescale environmental disasters in addition to fish not nearly as good for us as they're made out to be.
The writers describe harrowing scenes, like beaches smeared with six inches of rotting salmon fat after a massive pen collapsed. But even the day-to-day operations are stomach-churning. The salmon are packed into open-water nets and pumped full of antibiotics intended to counter parasites that expand relentlessly because of the close quarters. The salmon are fed smaller fish, and the scale at which these smaller fish are gathered is also highly damaging to the environment. The farmed salmon also have a negative impact on their wild counterparts when the farmed salmon escape (breeding with wild salmon) and when the farms overlap with wild salmon paths, disrupting migrations and passing parasites onto wild salmon.
A casual reader might find the book quite repetitive at times— we're walked through numerous instances of corporate malfeasance and how local, state, and federal governments mostly let these corporate entities off the hook. I think the intent is that the repeated events stack together to show not only how frequently this is happening but how this is going on right now— this is not history, this is an industry in a sort of marketing war that will determine how the future will look.
And to be honest, I haven't been able to eat salmon since starting the book.
Salmon Wars is an expose of industrial salmon farming, an outrageously profitable and exploitative business that's producing largescale environmental disasters in addition to fish not nearly as good for us as they're made out to be.
The writers describe harrowing scenes, like beaches smeared with six inches of rotting salmon fat after a massive pen collapsed. But even the day-to-day operations are stomach-churning. The salmon are packed into open-water nets and pumped full of antibiotics intended to counter parasites that expand relentlessly because of the close quarters. The salmon are fed smaller fish, and the scale at which these smaller fish are gathered is also highly damaging to the environment. The farmed salmon also have a negative impact on their wild counterparts when the farmed salmon escape (breeding with wild salmon) and when the farms overlap with wild salmon paths, disrupting migrations and passing parasites onto wild salmon.
A casual reader might find the book quite repetitive at times— we're walked through numerous instances of corporate malfeasance and how local, state, and federal governments mostly let these corporate entities off the hook. I think the intent is that the repeated events stack together to show not only how frequently this is happening but how this is going on right now— this is not history, this is an industry in a sort of marketing war that will determine how the future will look.
And to be honest, I haven't been able to eat salmon since starting the book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews