Unfortunately, this is a wasteful process, and much of the antibiotics pass from the pens into the water, where it wreaks havoc on the ecosystem, killing beneficial bacteria and algae that the native fish rely upon to survive. When the captive fish escape, or interact with their environment, waterborne diseases like salmon anemia can wipe out whole communities of wild fish. The destruction of the environment surrounding these pens can be devastating. Salmon droppings fall through the nets untreated and pollute the water, and have been known to destroy clam beds and other habitats. Now to add insult to injury, aquaculturists want to add a genetically engineered strain of Atlantic salmon to the mix that grows at twice the rate of normal fish.
Some fish do escape the confines of the nets from time to time.
Imagine what would happen to the wild strains if inter-breeding occurs and a super large predator takes the place of local wild Salmon. Now fully independent, the MSC offers real hope to the world's marine environment. Capitalizing on the vast surge of consumer concern about the state of our planet, the MSC has developed a labeling scheme for sustainable seafood products which provides a real incentive for fisheries, large and small, all over the world to be managed sustainably. They also have a list of farmers who are working towards sustainable production and harvesting . By choosing the increasing number of seafood products which will carry this label over the next few years, we can all help the environment and secure a future for the global seafood industry.