New York Times op-ed criticized
Earlier this year, the New York Times newspaper had to apologize for inaccurate reporting about salmon farming in Chile, when a journalist was suggesting- among else- that hormones were fed to farmed salmon destined for the US market. Yesterday, the paper allowed an Opinion Editorial written by Taras Grescoe to be published- again making statements that the salmon farming industry objected to.
In letters to the New York Times, the B.C. Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA), the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA) and Salmon of the Americas Inc. (SOTA) all expressed their concerns about the inaccuracies contained in the op-ed. While they agreed with Mr. Grescoe's stated concerns about the well-being of wild salmon, they all put forth arguments that countered statements made about farmed salmon, sea lice and the use of therapeutics.
The BCSFA suggested that contrary to statements made in the op-ed, farmed salmon are not fed pesticides, and "To suggest that farmed salmon products may contain pesticide residues is wrong". The letter from the association also states that- contrary to the claim made by Mr. Grescoe- "Farmed salmon gain about one pound for every 1.2 pounds of capture fisheries raw materials that are consumed".
In its Letter to the Editor, CAIA points out that "Late last year, the Pacific Salmon Forum stated that over 80 per cent of the wild salmon smolts migrating out of the Broughton in the spring of 2007 had no lice whatsoever". SOTA points out that- contrary to the advice from the op-ed author about not eating any salmon- the health benefits of eating salmon are well documented by organizations like the American Heart Association and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies in their Seafood Choices Study-available at www.iom.edu
