8 Delicious Wild Salmon Recipes

Photo: Gloria Dawson / The Daily Green

related articles

There are problems with salmon, unfortunately. Though it's become one of the most popular fishes in America, choosing a salmon at the fish market that is both safe for you and your children to eat, and that is fished sustainably is difficult.

The introduction of genetically modified salmon into the market, which could happen within weeks, thanks to a Food and Drug Administration ruling that the fast-growing salmon are safe, will only complicate the matter further for health and environmentally conscious consumers. After all, a fast-growing fish could consume less feed and provide more meat, potentially making it attractive from a resource perspective; on the other hand, salmon farms have been highly polluting and highly destructive of other fisheries, since so many wild fish are caught to feed the farmed salmon. That, and some people fear other unintended consequences from messing with the genes of animals. What do you think about genetically modified salmon? Take our poll.

Salmon farming has been a concern among environmentalists and some health advocates for a long time. While salmon is a healthy fish, many wild populations of salmon are endangered. Farm-raised salmon can be highly contaminated with PCBs because the small fish caught to feed the fish can be contaminated. The pens in open water can introduce diseases and waste into the wild, endangering any remaining native wild populations of salmon, and the use of antibiotics can lead to drug-resistant strains. Farmed salmon can also escape to compete with wild fish, thereby weakening the native gene pool.

Environmental Defense Fund recommends that no one eat more than one meal per month of farmed Atlantic salmon (and that kids under age 6 eat no more than a half meal per month) because of PCB contamination.

Unfortunately, even wild salmon isn't perfect. While sustainable environmentally, it is among the most deadly U.S. fisheries.

Better alternatives for salmon lovers include:

• Wild Alaskan salmon
• Farmed Arctic char
• Canned salmon
• Farmed rainbow trout

Salmon (and Salmon Alternative) Recipes

Wild Salmon with Ginger and Green Onions
Honey-Lime Wild Salmon
Teriyaki Salmon with Gingery Chard
Salmon Pie
Sesame Wild Salmon with Bok Choy and Carrot Ginger Whole Wheat Couscous
Toasted Wild Salmon
Red Chili-Rubbed Salmon
Horseradish-Crusted Wild Pacific Salmon

COMMENTS ()