Fishy Business Part Two

Fishy Business Part Two

Fishy Business Part Two: Organic Farmed Salmon

Here we are, it is finally time for part two of our three part fishy business series. Last time in part one we discussed conventionally farmed fish, which is the practice of raising hundreds of thousands if not millions of fish in cages or nets, feeding them with grains and chemically treated vegetation, administering medicines and antibiotics in an attempt to counteract the harm caused by these tight and dirty conditions. In part two, we’re going to discuss organic farming. Organic farming is one step below wild-caught seafood, a bridge between the supply-and-demand of conventional agriculture and the all-natural hunting and fishing.

Some people may say that organic fishing isn’t that different from conventional fishing, and in some cases we’re sure that’s true. Places with no certification standards, or companies attempting to greenwash their products may claim their food has been “sustainably farmed”, but that’s not the same as organic. Here in Australia, there are specific and audited organic aquaculture standards and our suppliers are specifically certified through a variety of organisations which can be found on our website. 

We don’t want to be a broken record, but we are confident that organic meat has an important place on your dinner table - we believe everyone should be eating organic to improve their health, quality of life and enjoyment of food. That includes seafood such as our salmon.

Now that we’ve clarified, you may be asking, “what actually is organic farming?”.

Depending on the different farms and certifications, there are different standards of organic farming, but there’s some things that are consistent across the board:
There is no antibiotics or growth hormones used
No artificial additives or preservatives are applied to the meat
Their food and processing are free of chemicals and GMOs
And the farms where they’re raised have much more room than supplied in conventional farms.

Much of organic production also includes sustainability practices to protect the ocean and waterways. That includes protecting other sea creatures from being impacted by farming practices and reducing the impact of pollution on the ecosystem. And organic farming like this isn't just good for the environment, but for you, too. It eliminates the risk of antibiotic resistance, reduces the risk of poisoning from unwell fish, plus the food they eat increases the nutritional profile of the meat, and makes it taste better, too!

We trust in the farmers we support who have organic certifications, but the sticker on the label isn’t the only indicator of good farming. Other certifications such as the MSC enforce ethical and sustainable aquaculture practices. As Captain Steve stated, ultimately the closer you can get to a small, fisherman-direct source, the more likely you are to have access to salmon that is actually as clean as possible.

In Australia, organic certifications are strong and accurately reflect the standards that mindful consumers want. For us, our farmers exceed organic certification standards and go above and beyond to raise high-quality meat in sustainable and ethical ways. That’s why we sell organically farmed salmon on our shelves and why we recommend organically farmed salmon for everybody. While wild-caught salmon is a delicious and nutritious option, which we’ll talk about next time, it can be a bit expensive and inaccessible for some people. We believe that for salmon, and in fact for all food, organic should be the standard.