Fish oil has become a new black oil in the aquaculture world. With the growing popularity of omega-3 fish oil, the demands are touching the sky. In such a condition how are we going to maintain sustainable fishing without draining the oceans to their very core? Of course, there are other sources of omega-3 other than fatty fishes but do they offer the same benefits? Teams of scientists are constantly searching for other alternatives of fish oil to protect both environment and marine life cycle. Although they suggest going with the farm-raised fish and fish oil to allow nature to heal itself back, many people disagree. To know the truth behind this alternative we need to dig further and get into straight facts:
What is the difference between farm-raised and wild-caught fishes?
There is a common misconception that farm-raised fishes are bad. Unfortunately, the answer is not as simple as black and white. What is the difference between them?
Farm-raised fishes
As you can already figure out from the term itself- farm raised fishes are raised in large-sized controllable pans that exist within the lake or river. The ultimate objective of raising fishes on the farm is to make them cheaper, easily available, and ready to consume. In the U.S. alone the farm-raised fishes make up to 90% of the fish consumption of the country.
The reason why farm-raised fishes are linked with low quality is that the fish food that is fed to the fish is low quality that is a mixture of grains, and a mixture of corn. In the case of salmon farming, the artificial color to mimic the wild salmons.
Wild-caught fishes
Right opposite to the farm-raised fishes, wild-caught fishes are caught by the fishermen from rivers, oceans, and lakes. The main benefit of wild-caught fishes is that they eat the organisms that are found naturally which is far more diverse than what they get fed in farms.
On top of this, wild-caught fishes don’t have any antibiotics and the risk of infection or disease as farm-raised do.
While both types of fishes are good to eat you should always buy from the reputable establishment to ensure the quality of the fishes.
Why farm raised fishes cannot replace freshly caught fishes?
- They have less nutrition value than wild-caught fishes
- The contains a higher amount of mercury, PCB and other harmful content
- Farm-raised fishes are treating with medicines to increase the preservation
- Compared to wild-catches they contain 30% less protein
In addition, most of the farm-raised fishes are genetically modified to avoid any diseases as they are raised within a particular parameter, they have a higher chance of catching parasites and other diseases. Hence, they are given antibiotics to reduce the overall risks of diseases.
Moreover, if you see the bright side of the story then, you may find that farm-raised fishes are protecting our oceans from over fishing by meeting the demands. Sure, the arguments still continue and scientists may need to come up with other reliable alternatives of wild-caught fishes.
In the end, you can reap the benefits of wild-caught fishes by consuming omega-3 fish oil that is created from the fresh catches of Alaska is rich with the nutrition and protein your body needs to function properly. For further information feel free to visit Healthy Naturals.