Sneak peek: Rick Moonen’s five questions for salmon farmers

Celebrated seafood chef Rick Moonen wasn’t always sold on farmed salmon. In fact, it took Moonen – who currently serves as the chef-owner of RM Seafood in Las Vegas, Nev. – “at least a decade” to warm up to the idea of featuring the farmed fish on his menu, as he told SeafoodSource.com online editor Sean Murphy in a recent investigative report.

However, extensive research into the ways and wills of the farmed seafood industry and a new role as brand ambassador for True North Salmon (a division of Cooke Aquaculture), has made Moonen into a convert of sorts.

Of course, the former “Top Chef” contestant remains critical of farmed salmon processes to an extent – the potential environmental impact of the practice still concerns him, as Moonen explained to Murphy in the “Fresh Take: Farmed Salmon” report. Those worries can be assuaged, though, by asking the right questions when sourcing farmed salmon.

There are 10 key inquiries that buyers should be posing to farmed salmon suppliers, according to Moonen, including the following:

  1. What certification programs do you participate in? – Various nonprofit groups such as the Aquaculture Stewardship Council and the Global Aquaculture Alliance have certification programs that set high standards for how salmon farms operate. If the salmon carries a label from one of these groups, Moonen said, “Then you know that they’ve gone through a rigorous inspection.” Also consider recommendations from non-industry organizations such as the American Heart Association.
  2. How do you approach crop rotation? – Is there a “rest period” between growth and harvesting, or what the industry calls “generations?” Many of the better farms will allow pens to lay fallow in between crops, much like land-based farmers will periodically let fields go fallow rather than overworking the land. For aquaculture, this leads to lower concentrations of pollutants and other adverse effects.
  3. Natural vs. artificial feed? – Just like with land-based farming, ask whether there are any additives or hormones being used, and whether any of the feed contains genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
  4. Integrated multitropic aquaculture? – This is a new concept of farming other species alongside salmon. Some farms will raise shellfish with salmon, for example, as both species have been seen in the wild to help each other, and mitigate fouling and/or pollutants. Not everyone does it, but if a farm does, that’s a bonus.
  5. What is your policy on pesticides? – Does the farm use them, and if so, when and how much? Some countries regulate usage, but not all countries set rules based on the same standards.

Access Moonen’s full "bucket list" of inquiries by clicking on the banner below:

Part_IV-1.png

Subscribe

Want seafood news sent to your inbox?

You may unsubscribe from our mailing list at any time. Diversified Communications | 121 Free Street, Portland, ME 04101 | +1 207-842-5500
None