Guy Cicero

Salmon have been escaping from some saltwater open-net aquaculture sites at an alarming rate, according to Melissa Clark in the New York Times article, The Salmon on Your Plate Has a Troubling Cost. That’s right. In the worst cases, large numbers of escaping salmon have a devastating effect on native species. Not good.

But there’s hope in land-based farms such as LocalCoho in upstate New York. As with other “new agriculture” solutions, sustainability depends on the right combination of game-changing technology, adequate start-up funding, and a public willing to pay premium prices. Watch LocalCoho’s video and get a clearer picture (and a positive outlook) on why land-based salmon farming is a big step ahead. Local Coho salmon is mostly used in New York restaurants but can be purchased by us non-New Yorkers on FreshDirect.com at a pricey $17.99/pound. Let’s all support this and help lower the costs—to us and the environment.

I’m no expert on salmon farming, but have been hopeful about farm-raised fish and other crops. Oysters from the Bay of Maine. Seaweed farming in Alaska. It’s all good, but everything new presents new challenges.