Where is halibut farmed

Fish farming means that the fish are commercially raised in controlled pens in lakes, rivers, oceans or tanks. Oftentimes, wild-caught fish are assumed healthier because of their natural diets and a decreased exposure to potentially harmful substances.

Farm-raised halibut are usually less expensive and more readily accessible for the consumer. The fish farming industry has developed better, more healthier ways of farming, but these threats still exist. The likelihood of wild-caught fish contracting a harmful bacteria or parasite is much lower than that of a farmed halibut, though it is possible.

There are several initiatives designed to alleviate strain on the halibut industry. Direct Seafoods began a campaign in geared toward getting restaurants to use farmed halibut instead of Atlantic wild-caught halibut.

The campaign is aimed at Atlantic halibut because of its suffering populations. Published on September 30, Nicki Holmyard. Contributing Editor. Want seafood news sent to your inbox? You may unsubscribe from our mailing list at any time.

Waitrose adds smoked salmon to its Loch Fyne offering. March 2, UK smoked salmon firm adds to Great Taste honors. Historic harvests of Pacific halibut off Alaska have been eight to 10 times greater, but the wild harvest has been falling in recent years apparently due to a changing ocean environment in some ways more favorable to salmon than to halibut.

The International Pacific Halibut Commission has set a limit of about tonnes off the Alaska coast this year , but even that dwarfs the farmed catch.

Wild halibut — unlike wild salmon — still dominate their market. Wild salmon long ago became minor players in a market where farmed fish now rule even in the best years for wild salmon.

Alaska lawmakers who have criticized those warning of market shifts have clearly not looked at the data. Alaska salmon, once a dominant force, now account for only about 12 percent of the global market, and about half of that is low value pink salmon. Production numbers from all four, using the low end of company estimates, would amount to nearly , metric tons of salmon a year. The report notes that already reduced tariffs on seafood shipped from Canada to the European Union EU are due to disappear in seven years.

The EU is second only to Japan as a consumer of Alaska salmon, and it has historically accounted for the largest foreign sales of canned Alaska salmon. All market indicators point to stiff competition for salmon sales in the market due to the abundance of farmed fish, and in that regard, Alaska commercial halibut fishermen are far better positioned. But there are potential market problems related to high cost and the suggestion wild halibut are endangered.

They are not, but the sales pitch of Direct Seafood could lead to that idea. And there are already those out there hawking farmed halibut as the next great thing. According to reports by the University of British Columbia, overfishing is causing global catches to fall three times more quickly than previously estimated. After approximately 50 days, the halibut larvae undergo a metamorphosis during which both eyes migrate to one side and they display the flattened appearance of adult fish.

The young halibut are kept in circular tanks at the hatchery until they reach around 5 grams. The hatchery phase generally takes six to seven months. Following this they undergo a nursery phase until they reach a size of grams and are ready for deployment in sea cages. Upon reaching this size, most juveniles are transported via transport tanks on large trucks and barges to sea cage sites in the ocean or to land-based on-growing facilities. To reach a targeted market size of kg, it will take months of on-growing where they are cared for and fed on a daily basis.

During the on-growing phase, halibut require around 1 to 1. As mentioned above, female halibut are preferred for farming as they have a faster growth rate and grow bigger than males, meaning a quicker time to reach market size, thereby saving money.