Fish farm (Shutterstock)
Farmed salmon production results in an overall loss of essential nutrients needed for humans from the fish the salmon feed on, a new study suggests.
In the study, published March 20 in the journal Nature Food, researchers say that eating more wild fish species such as mackerel, anchovies, and herring directly could benefit our health, while reducing the demand for farming fish species (such as salmon) that feed ON MARINE SPECIES LIMITED.
Oily fish such as mackerel and anchovies contain essential nutrients including calcium, vitamin B12 and omega-3, but some are lost from our diet when we eat salmon fillets, which feed on these species that are weaker in their food chain.
Forage fish
In the study, researchers analyzed the flow of nutrients from wild fish species that are used as feed for farmed salmon, and found a decrease in 6 out of 9 nutrients in salmon fillets: calcium, iodine, iron, omega-3, vitamin B12, and vitamin A, but they found an increase in selenium levels. And zinc.
“What we see is that most wild fish species used as feed have a nutritional value similar to or greater than the nutritional value of farmed salmon fillets,” said the study’s lead researcher in its press release: David Wheeler, a lecturer in the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge. .
Wheeler explains in exclusive statements to Al Jazeera Net that while people still enjoy eating salmon and supporting sustainable growth in this sector, everyone should start thinking about eating a larger and wider range of wild fish species such as sardines, mackerel and anchovies to get more. of essential nutrients directly into their plates.
He adds, "Making some small changes to our diet regarding the type of fish we eat can go a long way in changing some deficiencies in essential minerals and vitamins, which will be reflected in increased human health."
According to the study, approximately 71% of the adult population in the United Kingdom suffers from vitamin D deficiency in winter, and teenage girls and women often suffer from iodine, selenium and iron deficiency. However, while 24% of adults eat salmon weekly, only 5.4% eat mackerel, 1% eat anchovies, and only 0.4% eat herring.
Autumn harvest of fish in a fish pond in the Czech Republic (Shutterstock)
Improving diets
The researchers measured the balance of nutrients in the edible parts of whole wild fish used in salmon feed in Norway, compared to farmed salmon fillets, and focused on 9 nutrients that are essential in the human diet and concentrated in seafood: iodine, calcium, iron and vitamin B12. And vitamin A, omega 3, vitamin D, zinc and selenium.
The wild fish studied included Pacific and Peruvian anchovies, Atlantic herring, mackerel, sprat and blue whiting, which are all marketed and consumed as seafood. They found that these six species contained a greater or similar concentration of nutrients to farmed salmon fillets. Calcium amounts were 5 times higher in wild fish fillets compared to salmon fillets, iodine was 4 times higher, and iron, omega-3, vitamin B12 and vitamin A were more than 1.5 times higher.
The research team also found that consuming a third of current wild forage fish intended for food directly would be the most effective way to maximize nutrients from the sea.
The study indicates that although marine fisheries are important local and global food systems, large quantities of catches are diverted towards farm feed. The researchers point out that if nutritious seafood were prioritized for people, this could help improve diet and ocean sustainability.
Source: Al Jazeera + websites