People whose living depends on the farmed salmon industry, from mom and pop seafood stalls to restaurants to international distributors, should see within days effects of a study claiming the popular health food can be harmful.
The report, published this week in the prestigious journal Science, found that salmon from Vancouver and Toronto supermarkets was so contaminated with PCBs and other pollutants it should be eaten no more than once every month or two. The most extensive study of its kind advised similar consumption levels for European and U.S. cities after testing 700 salmon in nearly 40 locations, and the findings have made those in the industry anxious.
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In Black's Harbour, N.B., where aquaculture is the main employer, Heritage Salmon, the largest producer in Atlantic Canada and among the top five in North America, received calls from nearly all its 500 customers in Canada and the United States yesterday.
Ken Hirtle, vice-president of sales and marketing, said the company told each one that salmon is safe. "There could be an adverse reaction from consumers," he said. "It'll be Monday or Tuesday before the impact is known. But no, it's not going to put us out of business. Customers and distributors are placing orders even though we're getting lots of inquiries at the fish counters. People will be cautious and will ask about it, but will realize the health benefits outweigh the risks.
"If PCBs were the issue, there would be stories about all kinds of other foods. This is a vehicle to attack the industry because there is a belief by some it is environmentally invasive. This is one of the most highly regulated food supply industries in Canada."
At the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto yesterday, Atlantic salmon was piled high at several fish markets and some managers admitted they are worried about sales. They say customers are more often requesting wild and organically fed salmon. At Sea Front Fish Market, Atlantic salmon is no longer a top seller, said Pina Amaral. But she will continue to encourage fish buyers to purchase the farm-raised fish until the Canadian government tells her otherwise.
"I still think it's safe," Ms. Amaral said. "Too much of anything will hurt you, it's not just fish."
Salmon consumption has risen in recent years because the fish is rich in omega-3 fatty acids that reduce the risks of heart disease. Farmed-salmon production in Northern Europe, Canada, the United States and Chile has risen to more than a million tonnes a year, and more than half consumed worldwide comes from farms.
The study has fuelled the controversy over salmon farming, in which thousands of fish are raised in ocean pens and fed processed food — pellets of fish meal made from the ground-up remains of other fish. The industry says the study has been misinterpreted.
"The trace levels of PCBs are the same as in milk," said Nell Halse, general manager of the New Brunswick Salmon Grower's Association. "Obviously we would prefer they weren't there at all, but people need to understand it is trace. To send a message fish is toxic is irresponsible." The Canadian and U.S. government limit for PCB levels in salmon is 2,000 parts per billion, and the average in Atlantic farmed salmon, according to Ms. Halse, is 27 parts per billion and 26 parts per billion in B.C.-farmed salmon.
"I eat it twice, three times a week and my kids were raised on it," Mr. Hirtle said. "There are PCBs in milk, and I pumped four of five glasses of that into my kids every day. But I'm not going to stop drinking milk, and I'm not going to stop eating farmed salmon."
"There are levels of contaminants in wild fish as well, so this whole study is very biased," said Geoff Wilson, vice-president of industry and investor relations at George Weston Ltd., Canada's largest wholesale food distributor. "There's nothing unsafe about farm salmon or fresh salmon and both are extremely healthy for consumers." Restaurants could easily fall victim to salmon backlash, but most owners are optimistic, saying that the mad-cow crisis, which began last May failed to lower the sale of beef dishes.
"The restaurant industry has been crucified for the past year. So many things have gone wrong," said Mario Vena, owner of La Reserve in Thornhill, Ont., where Atlantic salmon makes up 40 per cent of sales. "Yes, we will be affected. ... Fortunately there are alternatives."
Billy Grant, owner of Billy's Seafood restaurant and market in Saint John, sells 200 pounds of farmed salmon fillets each week. He said that just two of 60 customers yesterday afternoon mentioned the study, and one ordered salmon while the other shunned it.
"If people read the study carefully they will see salmon is still good for them and not harmful in normal amounts," Mr. Grant said. "It may put a damper on salmon for a while, but there's always a scare about something, it seems." In New Brunswick, where most of the Atlantic farmed salmon comes from, the industry is worth $270 million a year and employs nearly 4,000, three quarters of who live and work in Charlotte County, where Heritage Salmon is based.
"These communities are dependent on the industry," Ms. Halse said. "If consumers lose confidence the effects will be devastating to the province and those communities. The people I represent are shocked and horrified." A consumer boycott could also hurt many B.C. communities already struggling to cope with the decline of the fisheries and forest sectors.
"A lot of people would be out of work," said John Beilka, manager of a state-of-the-art processing facility in Port Hardy, which employs about 200 workers and recently cost $10 million to rebuild. In the past two decades, B.C. salmon farming has grown into a $300 million a year industry that employs 4,000 mostly educated and skilled workers.
"I ate farm salmon through both of my pregnancies and feed it to my family every week," said Linda Sams, a senior biologist with Marine Harvest Canada, one of B.C.'s largest salmon farming companies. "I know intimately what goes into those fish and how they are handled and I would still recommend that people eat farm salmon."
With a report from Peter Kennedy
