Review by Booklist Review
Leaping and struggling against the current, dodging hungry bears, mature salmon spawn where they themselves hatched, and then they die. That's the scene hungry shoppers imagine when they buy slabs of glowing pink fish at the local supermarket. But the reality of how that fish actually reached the table contradicts raw nature. Most supermarket salmon has been raised in virtual captivity in fish farms, fed a processed diet, and then harvested, as many as a fifth of them dying before maturity. Journalists and Nova Scotia residents, husband-and-wife coauthors Collins and Frantz (Fallout, 2011) have investigated the provenance of Atlantic salmon, now being raised on a grand scale. Small Norwegian fish farms have been swallowed up by behemoth industrial farms whose effluvia have led to the collapse of the fjords' wild stocks. Canadian salmon farms have been prosecuted for environmental pollution. Now new technology to minimize and even eliminate pollution offers an opportunity for inland salmon farms in such places as Wisconsin. Advances like these aim to restore sustainability and keep salmon on the world's tables.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Erin Brockovich meets Wicked Tuna in this searing exposé from reporters Collins and Frantz (Fallout). Though eating salmon is widely believed to be a responsible and healthy choice, the authors argue that Big Salmon is a powerful industry that prioritizes profits over health--both of the fish and those who consume it. As the authors show, the majority of salmon that reach restaurant or dinner tables are raised in conditions that are harsh, unsanitary, and negatively impact the environment: millions of salmon are reared in cages on massive aquafarms, which pollute underlying seabeds with a layer of slime from "excess feed, chemical residue, and fecal matter" that can reach nearly three feet thick. Scientists, meanwhile, have been trying to sound the alarm about the health risks associated with eating farmed salmon, only to be thwarted by the industry's "campaign to discredit the criticism." The authors round things out with suggestions that the USDA, which lacks "standards for what constitutes 'organic' salmon," ought to have some, and should "ramp up oversight." This stellar investigation is the rare one that has the power to impact policymakers and consumers alike. Agent: David Halpern, Robbins Office. (July)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
An investigation of the hidden costs of the salmon-farming industry. Frantz is a former managing editor of the Los Angeles Times and chief investigator for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Collins is a former private investigator. In this absorbing collaboration, the authors take us behind the scenes of the farm-raised salmon industry. According to their research, open-net salmon farms cause damage to the environment and threaten the wild salmon population. Farmed salmon frequently spend their lives in feces-ridden water, are more susceptible to parasites and viruses, and are often treated with dangerous pesticides. "When you eat salmon," write the authors, "you are consuming all the pollutants and additives to which the fish has been exposed, which are stored in its fat." In one study, researchers discovered that "farmed salmon contained up to ten times as much cancer-causing chemicals as their wild counterparts." The authors also discuss the brutal treatment that salmon endure at hatcheries as well as the practice of killing predators that are attracted to the open nets of the salmon farms--sharks, seals, dolphins, and tuna. The authors convincingly demonstrate that the challenge for consumers is the lack of transparency and accountability in the industry. Akin to "Big Tobacco" or "Big Agribusiness," they note, "Big Fish employs counter-science and public relations campaigns to undermine scientists and environmentalists who challenge its practices and products." Although the outlook may sound bleak based on the extensive evidence that Frantz and Collins present, they also explore more sustainable commercial-scale salmon farming options, such as land farms and open-ocean farms. By exposing many of the unsavory elements of salmon farming, the authors hope to better educate consumers and encourage more responsible practices. In a closing call to action, the authors also warn that "the giants of the salmon-farming business will not abandon their profitable ways without pressure." A compelling investigation that will leave consumers reevaluating their food choices. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
