CANCER-CAUSING CHEMICALS IN FARMED SALMON

Friends of the Earth today (Wed 3 January) called for more Government research and the compulsory labelling of all farmed fish following news of the discovery of increased levels of cancer-causing PCB contamination in farmed salmon. Of greatest concern is the discovery of contamination was up to "ten times higher" in farmed fish than wild caught fish. [1]. In Scotland the salmon farming industry is worth ?260 million - greater than that of the Highland beef and lamb industries put together - and supports 6,500 jobs. Commenting, FoE's Director Kevin Dunion said:

"While the presence of cancer-causing PCBs and dioxins in wild caught fish is now well established the discovery that levels can be much higher in farmed fish is very worrying. The Government must immediately step up its monitoring for these chemicals in farmed fish and work with the industry to rapidly eliminate them from all food stuffs. While we wait for these measures to be implemented all farmed fish products should be labelled to allow consumers to make an informed choice about whether they choose to buy 'wild' or 'farmed' fish."

[1] BBC News report about forthcoming BBC 2 documentary 'Warnings from the Wild: The price of salmon' to be shown on 7 January 2001. According to the BBC "Dr Miriam Jacobs of Surrey University found the farmed fish contain up to 10 times higher levels of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) than their wild cousins." Find it at:
2] Dioxins and PCBs are implicated in causing cancers, hormone disruption, developmental and neurological problems. They accumulate in the fatty tissues of animals and humans. Last year, according to Government scientists consumers eating two or three portions of oily fish a week are likely to exceed dioxin and PCB intakes considered safe by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

[3] More info on fish farming is available at: http://www.foe-scotland.org.uk/nation/fish.html.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1098000/1098564.stm