Salmon Farm Plague

It's an aquaculture nightmare, only there's no waking up from this one.

As the New York Times reported this week, a viral infection (which leaves lesions like those shown in the photo on the left) is killing off millions of farmed salmon in Chile.  The aquaculture industry is taking the blame for following practices -- too many pens crowded too closer together with too many fish, and overuse of antibiotics -- that make a plague like this more likely.

It's also being blamed for the resulting layoffs of at least 1,000 people who worked on farms hit by the devastating disease.

These aren't the only problems with salmon farms that we've blogged about recently Nor are they the only troubles afflicting Chile's booming farmed-salmon industry.

But it's certainly the biggest black eye for farmed salmon in a while. -- a problem on a huge scale, especially given the prevalence of Chilean farmed salmon in the marketplace.

And it comes on the heels of news about the collapse of California's wild salmon run.

Alaska's wild salmon season begins in late spring and early summer, though flash-frozen fish is also available throughout the year. Wild-caught salmon remains a "Best Choice" of our Seafood Watch program.

Although the United States Department of Agriculture does a better job of addressing threats like this in our domestic aquaculture industry, farmed salmon remains solidly on our "Avoid" list.