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Farmed Fish vs. Wild-Caught

The levels of industrial pollutants found in aquaculture.

October 4, 2010 |
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Supplementary Info

Sources Cited

A. Schecter, T. R. Harris, N. Shah, A. Musumba, and O. Papke. Brominated flame retardants in us food. Mol Nutr Food Res, 52(2):266-272, 2008.

B. Antonijevic, C. Matthys, I. Sioen, M. Bilau, J. Van Camp, J. L. Willems, and S. De Henauw. Simulated impact of a fish based shift in the population n-3 fatty acids intake on exposure to dioxins and dioxin-like compounds. Food Chem. Toxicol., 45(11):2279-2286, 2007.

Acknowledgements

Transcript

Although the levels of dioxins and PCBs continue to decline, there is one dietary source that still remains a threat: fish. Everything eventually washes down into the sea. Yes, you can get some from horse meat, but most of human dioxin exposure comes from eating fish. The World Health Organization puts the tolerable upper daily limit at 1pg —one trillionth of a gram. As you can see just eating dairy and you’re already skirting with the max and fish takes you straight off the top.

Everyone agrees that the long chain omega-3 fatty acids found in certain fish like DHA are healthy, but, given the industrial contaminants in fish, as a recent analysis in Food and Chemical Toxicology concludes : if people choose to get their recommended long chain omega 3 intake from fish, the majority of consumers would exceed the safety limits for dioxins and dioxin-like substances (such as PCBs).

And just like with eggs, factory farmed fish have significantly more dioxins. In fact with every chemical tested farmed fish had higher levels of DDT, these other banned pesticides, over ten times more PCBs, ten times more dioxins than wild-caught fish. Aquaculture fish: farmed and dangerous.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by Dianne Moore.

To help out on the site please email volunteer@nutritionfacts.org

Dr. Michael Greger

Doctor's Note

  • Please feel free to post any ask-the-doctor type questions here in the comments section and I’d be happy to try to answer them. And check out the other videos on industrial toxins. Also, there are 1,449 other subjects covered in the rest of my videos--please feel free to explore them as well!

For some context, please check out my associated blog post, EPA dioxin limit has National Chicken Council worried products could be declared “unfit for consumption”

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/mgreger/ Michael Greger M.D.

    Please feel free to post any ask-the-doctor type questions here in the comments section and I’d be happy to try to answer them. And check out the other videos on industrial toxins. Also, there are 1,449 other subjects covered in the rest of my videos–please feel free to explore them as well!

    And check out my associated blog post EPA dioxin limit has National Chicken Council worried products could be declared “unfit for consumption”.

  • Kenton

    I buy farmed salmon from Whole Foods and feel okay with it.  Does cooking the flesh or making ceviche of it help reduce (e.g., neutralize) any of the toxins?

    • Toxins

       All fish have industrial pollutants in them from PCB’s and dioxins to mercury and drug residues. Although true that whole foods may try to keep the “cleanest” fish no fish is truly clean. And no, cooking does not remove industrial pollutants.
      http://nutritionfacts.org/?s=fish

  • Krm

    The being “okay with it” means to say they appear about as clean as any average bear of the wild-caught variety, not to say they are as clean as the driven snow :-)

  • Lew Payne

    The study shown in the video is too small (visually) – I can’t read the title of it.  On most of your other videos, the title of the study is clear, making it easy for me to obtain the study itself.  Could you please cite the title of this study, and the Journal it appeared in (I have access to most).  Thank you in advance. 

    • Toxins

      Click the “sources cited” section under the video and you can view the studies.

  • Neil

    Dr., Is there no distinction between fish farmed in pens in large bodies of water (oceans and lakes), those farmed inland in small ponds, and those farmed in concrete “ponds”? You also make no distinction between fish fed animal-based feed, e.g., salmon, and those fed plant-based feed, e.g., tilapia. The Monterey Aquarium puts out a list of fishes based on such criteria. Does the literature out there show no distinction in toxin levels between the type of facility in which farmed fish are raised and the food they are fed? Thank you.

    • http://www.DonForresterMD.com/ Don Forrester MD

      All the methods you describe have problems. I am aware of only one sustainable fish operation in the world… Veta La Palma. I would view the TED.com talk by Dan Barber: How I fell in love with a fish. Even if I had the opportunity to eat a fish from Veta La Palma I would pass for two reasons. You would have to know he content of the water to make sure that it didn’t contain mercury, arsenic and persistent organic pollutants. Of course even if the fish is free of those chemicals it would still have cholesterol and saturated fats. Fish is not a healthy food. By supporting the current fish industry you are supporting non-sustainable practices plus harming your health.

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