Have you ever wondered where the supposedly sustainable farmed fish you see at the grocery store comes from?

In this episode, Therese Markow, Susan Ryan, and Maya Martin discuss the environmental and human-rights costs in global aquaculture, with a focus on inland fish farms in China and the fish meal used to feed farmed seafood. They break down some of the findings from the Outlaw Ocean Project in greater detail regarding the governmental oversight gaps, the international impact of these fish farms, and concerns about employee relocation.

Key Takeaways:

• Many of the workers at the aquaculture fish farms in inland China are relocated from other parts of China, and even North Korea.

• A large portion of what's being imported into the US doesn't undergo a physical inspection by the FDA. A physical inspection is where you would expect to find things like chemicals that shouldn't be in your food, antibiotics, or spoiled products.

• ⅔ of the global aquaculture industry is carnivorous or fed, so most of it relies on fish meal or fish oil, which is tied to other problems.

• The very wild fish that we're supposed to be protecting by fish farming are the ones being exploited, and the wild fish populations are still being damaged.

"As a consumer, what you can do is focus on eating locally caught seafood - if you see it come in from the fishing boat, then it's a lot harder for hidden abuses to sneak in. You can also focus on eating more sustainable types of aquaculture, such as bivalves, which are mussels and oysters and things like that." — Maya Martin

Connect with The Outlaw Ocean Project:

Outlaw Ocean Project: https://theoutlawocean.com/

Connect with Therese:

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Bluesky: @CriticallySpeaking.bsky.social

Instagram: @criticallyspeakingpodcast

Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net

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