- The second method employs enormous
nets/pens in the open ocean, where the fish can be contained and easily
harvested, but where they are free to feed naturally as they would if caught
wild, thus maintaining the natural healthful fatty acid balance.

Impossible ! the reality of farm salmon is devastating for the environment
and may be especialy the ones in open ocean ( very close to the shore and in
fact crowded pens, fed  often an unatural diet)
Salmons in the wild roam miles away from their native stream in the open
ocean as any carnivorous they need to move a lot to eat . No way they can be
waiting in a pen ( as big it can be ) for fishes to come by ( that they will
avoid to do  anyway ).Those pens are so crowded that seals learned to suck
out the flesh by bitting thru the net. You will find in the archives some
web sites that i gave  demonstrating the ecological disaster of farmed
salmon .
What will be the point anyway to raised fenced in salmons when they can have
the whole ocean and free food to themselves  . The ocean have not been
subdivided in private property  yet .( it is coming considering the leasing
of oyster and clams beds ,the fish farms etc...)
For sure the protection of wild salmon require more than the narrow short
term economic point of view . It require that we protect the watersheds of
salmons stream from logging so questionning our use of pulp paper , it
require that we question the overharvesting of many sea species ( animals
feed?)  etc...

 I asked how
the consumer is supposed to know which kind of "farmed fish" she is
purchasing, and was told, "You ask your fish monger. At this market, we
purchase only the open ocean farmed fish." Any information about this?

If he  can't guarantee wild he is reaping you off nutrionally and
environmentally.

jean-claude

Meanwhile, we bought Chilean Sea Bass (also very pricey) but as far as I
know, still a wild fish with a very good fatty acid balance. It's for dinner
tonight, so I'll have to see how good it is.

Maddy Mason
Hudson Valley, NY