You probably already knew that fish farms are hell-holes of overcrowding, unnatural life cycles, and dyes added to their diet to make fish look healthy. But did you know that vaccines are given to farm-raised fish, as well? A recent study has found that in the face of the sheer amount of disease, waste, and contamination found in the overcrowded, filthy waters, the practice of vaccinating farm-raised fish isn’t just tragic, it’s completely useless.
Researchers from the University of Waterloo, the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaiso, and Chile’s University of Valparaiso tested the effects of a vaccine meant to prevent fish from contracting the bacterial pathogen Piscirickettsia salmonis after exposure to sea louse Caligus rogercresseyi. After vaccinated fish and unvaccinated fish were exposed to the sea louse, the researchers found that the vaccinated fish had lower numbers of bacteria than unvaccinated fish, but actually showed more signs of infection and had much higher death rates.
Why?
The study concluded that the vaccine made the fish unable to fight off multiple diseases at once, wreaking havoc with their natural immune responses.
“Fish have a limited number of resources to respond to an illness so their immune system makes choices–when they’re infected by sea lice, for example, the fish’s immune system is suddenly geared to respond to that specific threat, leaving them totally exposed to other threats like P. salmonis,” said Brian Dixon, a professor in biology at Waterloo. “It’s like sending ambulances out to all emergencies when in fact some of those emergencies need firefighters.”
The solution may seem like a simple one — wouldn’t giving the fish multiple vaccines solve the problem?
According to the study, fish given multiple vaccines died from stress of too many injections.
And because fish farms are riddled with various bacteria, parasites, and diseases, all of the fish cramped inside the farms are, too.
Not only does this disturbing environment make consuming farm-raised fish dangerous and unhealthy, it’s just plain cruel.
Last year, Hereditary chief George Quocksister Jr. from the Laich-Kwil-Tach Nation went to multiple salmon farms along the east coast of Vancouver, gathering footage to document the horrific conditions in which the animals live.
The video footage reveals blind, emaciated fish wallowing in their own filth, others infested with parasites, and others with massive tumors and gills swollen from the effort of day-to-day survival in the putrid farms.
Another study done by Royal Society Open Science in 2017 found that certain salmon, called “loser fish” and “drop-outs” by farmers have become so depressed from domestication that they float on the water’s surface, as if they were already dead.
After a terrible life on the farm, fish are treated mercilessly during slaughter, where many are skinned alive before being packaged and sold for humans to eat.
And while eating wild-caught fish might seem like a better alternative to end the cruelty, there is even more fraud and ecological danger in the wild seafood industry.
Although touted as “sustainable,” fish farms are wreaking havoc on our environment. The mass amount of waste and disease accumulated by fish farms ends up in nearby streams, lakes, and oceans, spreading the problem into our wild waters.
What’s more, a study done by Oceana found that 43% of salmon in restaurants and grocery stores were mislabeled. A whopping 69% of that number were labeled “wild caught” when DNA tests proved they were in fact farmed Atlantic salmon. Others proved to be farmed Atlantic salmon were labeled as “Pacific” or “Alaskan,” or even as more valuable species of salmon, such as “Chinook”.
Consider what people put into their bodies when they eat these fish: chemicals, disease, and the body of an animal whose life was spent — and taken — by means of torture. The most sustainable way to support the health of our waters and the wellbeing of these living, sentient beings is to keep them off of our plates. Eliminating animal products by going vegan is the most environmentally-friendly, cruelty-free thing you can do, and it feels great, too!
Help stop the seafood industry. Choose cruelty free, vegan options instead.
Thanks for sharing valuable information and It’s video is incredible.
Terrible; these conditions.
Having studied fishes for several years and written a popular book about them (What a Fish Knows, 2016], I believe that what the science now shows about the cognitive, emotional, and social lives of fishes puts them on equal moral footing with mammals. And yet we continue to treat (and eat) them abysmally. We need a sea change in our relations with the complex, sentient beings.
Time to outlaw fish “farms.” I live in Alaska, we are now inundated with Atlantic salmon (which are horrible to Eat) after several escaped their pens and ended up mating. Also, these fish transmit disease to wild stocks and eat their food. It’s got to stop. Time for humans to get smart and realize they can’t mess with Mother Nature, it’s always a disaster!
Incredible footage. I will never buy fish from any source again. Not after watching this.
These crooks are making a fortune, all at the expense of the fish and suckers who buy it.
When people are eating out at a restaurant, they don’t think about the fact that whatever they are eating contains whatever that fish or animals was fed, including antibiotics. We must boycott salmon so that we can get laws passed to stop this disgraceful display of greed.
Sometimes I am quite grateful that having a fish bone stick in my throat as a teenager has made me petrified of eating fish.
The solution to abstain from eating salmon and other fish does not help the inhumane abuse one bit. That should be where are efforts are targeted. That’s like shaking our heads, saying there is nothing we can do about it and turning our backs on the horribleness and deceit that is going on. Put the fish farms out of business, make greater efforts against pollution, demand accurate labeling, enforce accountability, and fight for stronger laws against inhumane treatment of ALL animals. That’s what we should be doing.
The best way to END this abuse IS to STOP eating fish and seafood! Fish are highly intelligent many use tools, they have pain receptors-just like we do and they can communicate with each other. They have complex social orders and behaviors. By NOT eating animals, animal products or fish and other seafood-the demand is greatly reduced-the need for these “farms” is reduced-they lose business and money and go OUT of business! Going vegan IS the BEST way to help this planet- our bodies AND of course other living, feeling beings that have EVERY right to LIVE!!!
I shall not purchase “wild caught” salmon any longer.
What kind of insecure weirdos are these? They should be put in those pens and release those poor salmon. My email is [email protected] (my two betta’s names) and please tell me where I may rescue one of these little newborn, young salmon. Please contact. I have many local shelters. For Ex: Petsmart, Petco, Banfield Pet Hospital, and Pet Hotel.
Shame shame shame Please help!!!
Yet another way humankind has screwed the environment and the fish. Way to go people. The bastards who operate these torture farms should be forced to live like this themselves.????