Fish is a precious food that forms the basis of the Mediterranean diet and that we should have on our table more often!
In this regard, aquaculture provides us with great help, as farmed fish are available year-round at affordable prices and with guarantees of safety and traceability. Yet the prejudices against farmed fish are truly numerous; first and foremost, this limits the development of aquaculture, which could help Italy reduce its dependence on imports and not sufficiently value our domestic production, which abroad is considered an excellence, especially regarding eels, perch, trout and caviar.
We will therefore try to clarify as much as possible and dispel the false myths about farmed fish.
Below is the answer to the most frequently asked questions.
Is the farmed fish safe?
Although it may seem paradoxical, it is more so in the case of fish caught, for several reasons. First of all, the quality of the food and the waters in which they live, combined with a not very long life cycle, mean that farmed fish accumulate fewer chemical pollutants than those caught, which very often come from polluted seas.
Regarding the second thing about fish caught in seas and oceans, we only know the area where it is caught and the method of cooking. However, we do not know what it has eaten, the quality of the waters in which it grew, nor the amount of heavy metals it has accumulated. Aquaculture fish, on the other hand, is monitored, controlled, and "tracked" throughout its entire life cycle and must comply with precise legal requirements.
In particular, fish raised in European Union countries must comply with strict animal welfare laws and are monitored from egg to sale to the consumer. The fish farming chain in Italy is usually very short, which has an advantage in terms of freshness: the time between the moment of catching the fish and its delivery to the supermarket is generally shorter than in the case of wild fish or fish raised abroad. Therefore, the first element that must be paid close attention to is the origin, indicated on the label or on the signs displayed in fishmongers, and also the price: a trout with very low prices definitely comes from more competitive countries but with lower quality and less controlled production.
Is aquaculture unsustainable because it impoverishes the seas?
In reality, it is not exactly that way; indeed, aquaculture could be a practical solution to meet the growing demand for fish products without further exploiting the seas and oceans.
Indeed, with 60% of the world's wild fish stocks already exploited beyond their maximum sustainable capacity, aquaculture plays and will play a fundamental role in meeting the global population's demand for fish. Following the enormous overexploitation of fish stocks, it is unthinkable to expect an increase in the amount of fish caught; indeed, we need to aim for a reduction in wild fish stocks. This is one of the added values of aquaculture, of course, provided it is conducted in a responsible, modern and sustainable manner.
Does farmed fish contain less nutrients than wild fish?
No, it has nutritional characteristics very similar to those of wild fish and also more stable since the nutritional composition of the fish caught varies depending on several factors such as species, season, diet and age. Normally, farmed fish tend to accumulate more fat in their meat, and this is a disadvantage because they generally have a higher presence of Omega 3, the fats that are so much talked about as "heart-friendly" thanks to their cardio and vascular protective, anti-thrombotic, anti-arrhythmic and anti-inflammatory properties. In particular, EPA and DHA, two fats belonging to the Omega-3 family and of purely fish origin, are very important for adults and children.
Is the fish caught fresher than the fish bred?
No, on the contrary, in Italy farmed fish comes from a short-chain supply chain and is fished "on demand" by the retailers. Therefore, it always arrives fresh in the stores and in generally shorter times than for wild-caught fish. Moreover, farmed fish is never frozen before being sold. Another major difference is that farmed fish is always in season; unlike wild-caught fish, which is not always available because it is subject to seasonality, the fishing limits of fish stocks, and also to climatic conditions; farmed fish is always available for sale, always fresh, 12 months a year.