Matters of Scale - Factory-Fish Farming
Number of different algicides, herbicides, pesticides, and other
chemical additives normally fed to farm-raised salmon in 1989 | 3 |
Number being used in 2000 | 26 |
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Time it takes, in a catfish pond producing 5,000 kilograms of fish per year,
to drop 10 tons of waste into the water | 1 year |
Average period of time a pond is used in raising catfish for human consumption, before draining and refilling with fresh water | 6 years |
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PCB concentrations found in wild salmon, in a recent study, in pg/g | 5,302 |
PCB concentrations found in farmed salmon | 51,216 |
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Percentage of global production of fish and seafood coming from aquaculture in 1970 | 3.9 |
Percentage coming from aquaculture in 2000 | 27.3 |
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Estimated amount of beef produced, worldwide, in 2002, in metric tons | 49,700,000 |
Estimated amount of farmed fish produced in 2002 | 52,700,000 |
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Sources: Chemical additives: National Warmwater Aquaculture Center, Mississippi State University, and www.animalaid.org.uk; Catfish
waste: Craig S. Tucker and John A. Hargreave, "Effluents for Channel Catfish Aquaculture Ponds," Mississippi State University, 1998;
PCBs in salmon: Chemosphere, Vol. 46(7), 2002; production percentages: www.fishfarming.com; beef production: USDA; farmed fish
production: extrapolated from Fisheries Department, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.