00:00When you think of salmon, what comes to mind?
00:04Maybe this or something like this?
00:07Salmon has become a symbol of healthy eating.
00:10Rich in protein, full of omega-3s and available in nearly every supermarket all year round.
00:16It's a particularly popular choice for the holiday season, especially in northern Europe.
00:21Maybe it appeared on your Christmas dinner table too.
00:25But Atlantic salmon, the species most consumed in Europe,
00:29is now listed as near-threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List.
00:35In some countries, it has already disappeared.
00:39So the question is, is it still possible to eat the king of the fish responsibly and sustainably?
00:49Atlantic salmon, as the name suggests, is found in the northern Atlantic Ocean.
00:54It begins life in freshwater, travels to the ocean to reach adulthood
00:58and then returns to the river it was born in to breed.
01:02But that's only true for salmon living in the wild.
01:05The reality is that most of the salmon eaten in the EU comes from non-member state countries,
01:11and 95% of it is farmed.
01:14In 2024, the EU imported 80% of its salmon from Norway, followed by the UK, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, China and Chile.
01:24And when Europeans do eat wild-caught salmon, it's rarely Atlantic salmon.
01:29Most wild salmon entering the EU is Pacific salmon, coming from the US and Canada, usually sold as frozen, guttered or canned products.
01:39We spoke with the NGO Salmon Watch Ireland, which promotes more sustainable salmon farming practices.
01:45It says farmed salmon is far from healthy and environmentally friendly.
01:49There is colourant added to the food of the farmed salmon to make them look more attractive.
01:57If they were white-fleshed, no one would eat them, if you understand, because they wouldn't look like salmon.
02:03So, I mean, there are chemicals given to the fish.
02:07A lot of the organic standards have reduced chemicals.
02:10They use a thing called cleaner fish, which basically help with stopping infestations of sea lice.
02:20But that's not always successful and probably won't be as successful as chemicals would have been.
02:26Colerants and sea lice infestations are not the only problems flagged when it comes to farmed salmon.
02:35NGOs also point to issues like overcrowding and high mortality rates in farm cages, which affect the well-being of the fish.
02:43The problem with salmon farming is the welfare of the farmed fish themselves.
02:52What goes on in farms is all under the water.
02:55Nobody sees it.
02:57If the same practice were carried out on land, there would be uproar.
03:01There would really not be support to eat this product.
03:04But out of sight, under the water, it's certainly out of mind.
03:10So, what about certifications?
03:13If the packaging says organic or responsibly farmed, can we trust that?
03:19The WWF recommends looking for this symbol, the Aquaculture Stewardship Council or ASC label.
03:27But other NGOs warn these labels can be misleading.
03:30As with any certification body, there is a payment involved.
03:34These certification bodies are not really independent. It's a business.
03:39So, what can we do to protect this endangered fish?
03:43One option is swapping the salmon on your plate for less threatened species.
03:47Trout, for example, is a popular alternative, but most of it also comes from farms.
03:52A better choice is to go for wild-caught fish, although that does usually come with a higher price tag.
03:58In the past few years, vegan alternatives have also become more popular.
04:03Whether that's fake smoked salmon available in supermarkets or homemade tofu fillets,
04:08these products usually come with a lower environmental impact, but some can also be expensive.
04:14So, while it's not an easy choice, reducing our consumption just a little bit
04:19can help salmon populations on farms and in the wild.
04:28Let's take a look!
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