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At EWG, our team of scientists, engineers, policy experts, lawyers and computer programmers pores over government data, legal documents, scientific studies and our own laboratory tests to expose threats to your health and the environment, and to find solutions. Our research brings to light unsettling facts that you have a right to know.
PCBs in Farmed Salmon: Farmed salmon consumption is up
Farmed salmon consumption is up
According to a farmed salmon industry source, 22 percent of all retail-seafood-counter dollars comes from farmed salmon (Redmayne, 2000). From a market dominated by wild salmon just ten years ago, now six of every ten salmon fillets sold in stores and restaurants are from fish raised in high-density pens in the ocean, managed and marketed by the salmon farming industry.
Based on our analysis of state-of-the-art fish consumption data derived from 20,000 adults over the twelve-year period from 1990 through 2002, we find:
- All told, one-quarter of all adults eat salmon at least occasionally. About 23.1 million people eat salmon more often than once a month, 1.3 million people eat salmon at least once a week, and an estimated 180,000 people eat salmon more often than twice a week.
- Salmon is more likely to be eaten by the rich and the well-educated. Salmon consumption correlates strongly with both household income and the education level of the woman who heads the household. For instance, adults from households with at least a $70,000 yearly income, and headed by a woman with a college degree, are 3.7 times as likely to eat salmon as are households with $30,000 yearly incomes headed by women who hold a high school diploma but not a college degree (Figure).
References
- Redmayne, Peter. 2000. Farmed salmon. As world harvests approach 1 million tons, the industry consolidates to keep up with spiraling demand. SeaFood Business. August 2000.
