The controversy surrounding the damage to the environment being done by fish farms continues to make headlines and continues to confuse readers. Over the past year there have been many articles writing that claim fish farms destroy the environment by polluting the water. However, there is also been several articles written that say just the opposite. Here is a look at the divided opinion in an effort to determine what facts can actually be established.

Fish farming is the process of raising fish in a confined space for the purpose of human consumption. Fish farming has been going on for thousands of years. The ancient Chinese used to raise carp and other fish for food. Fish was a staple on their diet and they discovered it was easier to breed and raise the fish than it was to depend on nature to raise the fish and then they had to catch them. Modern fish farming is divided into two types of farming operations, fresh water fish farms and salt water fish farms. Fresh water farming operations are usually done in inland canals or ponds. The canals are easier to manage and operate. Most operations use a concrete lined canal that has an inlet on one end for fresh water and an outlet on the other end of the dirty water. The dirty water goes through a filter and either recycled to the inlet or dumped into a river or other body of water.

This type of fish farming doesn’t hurt the environment. The undigested fish food and well as the fish feces are collected in the filters and the canal cleaning process, dried and then used for fertilizer. This fish fertilizer not only doesn’t harm the natural environment, but helps sustain the soil by adding important nutrients.

Salt water fish farming is done by hanging a large net in the ocean and supporting the top with either buoys or a floating dock. The fish live in the large net which relies on the tides and currents to bring fresh oxygenated water. The undigested food and feces falls to the bottom of the sea, and is either carried away by the currents or piled up on the bottom.

The problem with these operations is the volume of waste that is generated. Some of these net pens contain as many as