Depending on where it comes from, salmon can be a very sustainable protein source.
Since salmon follow a pretty predictable migration pattern and travel in large schools, fishers will simply drop a “passive net” in a bay and wait for fish to swim through. Ray Hilborn, Ph.D., a marine biologist and fisheries science professor at the University of Washington, explains that this means the industry has a lower carbon footprint than other fisheries.
Bycatch also isn’t as much of a concern with salmon fishing. Most bycatch happens when nets are released deep into offshore waters, scooping up a variety of species (some of which might be threatened or endangered) in the process. Since salmon nets are usually deployed closer to the surface—and further inland—the risk of catching other species is much lower.
Alaska, where most wild salmon is caught in the U.S., also has strict rules around how much fishing can occur each season. Researchers across the state monitor salmon populations year-round to determine the health of various stocks. They use these observations to set catch limits, ensuring that fishers don’t take more salmon in one season than can naturally reproduce.
Because of this strict monitoring, Hilborn says that “there are more salmon in the ocean now than at any time in history, as far as we know.”
