Columnist and Environment

Why I won't be buying sea-farmed salmon ever again

I knew there were problems with salmon reared in captivity at sea, but after witnessing the damage inflicted by life in an ocean pen, I will be voting with my shopping trolley, says Graham Lawton

By Graham Lawton

18 October 2023

Field Notes - Graham Lawton — An open-pen salmon farm run by the company Arnalax in Arnarfjörður, one of the West Fjords in north-west Iceland
Patagonia

WE PICKED the wrong day to take a small boat across a fjord in wild western Iceland. The weather was challenging, to say the least, with a heavy swell and lashing rain. We were trying to get out to a salmon farm to see it for ourselves, but were beaten back.

I was in the country on a press trip organised and funded by the outdoor clothing company Patagonia, which …

View introductory offers

No commitment, cancel anytime*

Offer ends 28th October 2023.

*Cancel anytime within 14 days of payment to receive a refund on unserved issues.

Inclusive of applicable taxes (VAT)

or

Existing subscribers

Sign in to your account

1

Sperm caught breaking Newton's third law of motion

2

Record-breaking quantum computer has more than 1000 qubits

3

Oddly bright burst may mean space is more transparent than we thought

4

Your ultimate guide to ultra-processed food – how bad is it really?

5

Vegan cheese made from fermented peas could taste more like dairy

6

What are solid-state batteries and why do we need them?

7

7 spooky science stories that will have you hiding behind the couch

8

On the hunt for thousands of salmon that escaped Icelandic fish farm

9

Deforestation increased in 2022 despite pledges to save forests

10

How countries can go fossil fuel free with wind and solar superpowers