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But when you take a closer look, farm-raisedfish makes about as much sense as ocean-caught beef. The most common fish species raisedby fish farmsare salmon, carp, tilapia, sea bass, catfish, and cod. The fish are tightly packed in tanks or cages with thousands of other fish eating fish food or fish meal.

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Harming the Fish The poor conditions farmed cod are subjected to cause physiological deformities. Over-crowded tanks cause the fish to rub tails and fins, which then become damaged. Overcrowding also increases the risk of disease and lice being passed from fish to fish. And the fish鈥檚 oily diet causes their livers to swell up.

Adult cod are fed on fish-meal pellets that are made out of fish oil extracted from 鈥渢rash fish鈥? It is estimated that four kilograms of fish are required to produce one kilogram of farmed cod. This trebles the pressure on marine fisheries, harming natural food chains and making it harder for wild cod stocks to recover.

Cod-Farming techniques Captive females are mated with wild-caught males. Artificial light is used to encourage spawning out of season. Once hatched, juvenile fish are given antibiotics and vaccinated against diseases before being stored in seawater-filled tanks.

Many more cod farms are proposed, particularly in Shetland, and large numbers of salmon farmers are considering diversifying into this new branch of aquaculture. Historically, it used to be possible to catch vast numbers of Atlantic cod supposedly just by lowering a basket into the ocean and scooping them out.