Nearly half of all seafood consumed around the world comes from fish farms, says Science Daily.
Increasing seafood consumption has been proposed as part of a strategy to combat the global epidemics of obesity and diabetes. In addition, the US Food and Drug Administration and the US Environmental Protection Agency now recommend pregnant women, nursing mothers and young children increase their seafood consumption to two to three servings per week of low-mercury fish.
"While increased seafood consumption comes with many health benefits, we can't ignore the clear warning signs that we are rapidly approaching the limits of wild fish that can be caught," says David C. Love, PhD, MSPH, senior author of the study and an assistant scientist with the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
"To fill this gap, aquaculture is replacing natural fisheries as a major source of edible seafood. Many aquaculture methods are safe and sustainable.
"However, some methods pose unnecessary risks to public health and deplete natural resources."
Overfishing has depleted wild fish stocks and damaged marine resources, and fish farms have moved in to fill some of the gaps. But farmed seafood is not without risk. It often contains the same contaminants, such as heavy metals, that are found in nature.
Meanwhile, the fish are given feed medicated with antibiotics to ward off disease or treated with chemicals, which can end up in the water supply.
Aquaculture further contributes to the reduction of fish stocks because wild fish are often used for feed.
Read more HERE.
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