Farmed fish rely on wild catches, raising concerns over ocean depletion
A new investigation shows that many farmed seafood species, including salmon, are fed wild-caught fish, sometimes consuming several times their own weight, undermining claims that aquaculture spares oceans.
An investigation by The Outlaw Ocean Project revealed that the majority of farmed seafood, including salmon, shrimp, trout, sea bass and sea bream, is fed with fishmeal and fish oil made from wild-caught fish, with some operations using more than six times a salmon's weight in wild catch. The report links the industry to a range of social and environmental costs, from job losses in small-scale fisheries to chemical exposure, forced labor on vessels and factories, and violent protests triggered by stench and pollution, especially in countries like Gambia, Mauritania, Russia’s Far East, China’s Xinjiang and India.
Spanish retailers such as Carrefour have opened inquiries into their supply chains after evidence of worker deaths and illegal fishing at Latin American fishmeal plants. Although bivalve cultivation is comparatively low-impact, over two-thirds of farmed fish still rely on feed from overexploited wild stocks, and the Food and Agriculture Organization forecasts a near-10% increase in fishmeal use by 2032. Experts argue that alternative protein sources remain unaffordable at scale, leaving the current feed-dependent model largely unchanged.
Why it matters
Consumers may be paying for “sustainable” fish that actually depend on overfished wild stocks and exploit vulnerable workers.
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