By Dan Burden, content specialist, AgMRC, Iowa State University, djburden@iastate.edu.

Revised July 2011 by Diane Huntrods, AgMRC, Iowa State University.


Overview
Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) are distributed across the basin of the North Atlantic Ocean from the Arctic Circle to Portugal in the eastern Atlantic, from Iceland and southern Greenland, and from the Ungava region of northern Quebec south to the Connecticut River. Part of their life cycle occurs in saltwater and part in freshwater. Atlantic salmon were eliminated from most of their native range in the northeastern United States and Canada, but restocking efforts have re-established them in many watersheds.

Production
In the United States, Maine and Washington are the two largest producing states, with an estimated 40 million pounds of live-weight production. Atlantic salmon, specifically chinook and coho, account for over 95 percent of the farmed salmon produced. Other species found on the market include chum, pink and sockeye.

Atlantic salmon are cultured extensively at state, federal and private facilities throughout the northeast for restoration efforts, recreational fishing opportunities and as a food fish. Under culture conditions, Atlantic salmon eggs should be incubated at 42 degrees F. Upon hatching, the temperature should be dropped to 38 degrees F until the sac fry begins to accept prepared food. At this point, the temperature should be raised to 50 degrees F, then slowly increased to a final maintenance temperature of 60 degrees F. The pH should be greater than 6, and dissolved oxygen levels should remain above 7 ppm.

In the American Northwest, there has long been controversy about whether salmon aquaculture has beneficial or detrimental implications for the wild fish resource. Whether there is common ground between sustaining wild salmon with hatchery-produced fish and the hatchery-based aquaculture of salmon was recently called into question by research reported in a fall 2006 edition of the Conservation Biology journal.

A group led by an Oregon State University geneticist cautioned that relying on hatcheries to sustain salmon runs is likely to fail in the long run without restoring river habitats. They found that fish raised from wild eggs in hatcheries will soon evolve traits ill-suited to the wild and that hatchery programs "essentially created a fish version of white lab mice." This finding suggests that they are very well adapted to handling, artificial diets and so on but that they do not survive well in the wild.

This has been a controversial issue. Hatchery fish make up about two-thirds of the wild-strain salmon and steelhead (trout) returning each year to the Columbia Basin, the largest producer of salmon on the West Coast. The returns represent just 5 percent of historical levels before dams, logging and other habitat degradation reduced populations and spawning-bed resources. Conservation groups, Indian tribes, fishermen, state and federal agencies, the timber industry, agricultural groups and property rights groups have been battling over the role of hatcheries and the role of artificial population enhancement for decades.

The bottom line: research confirms that steelhead raised for generations in hatcheries do poorly when they try to reproduce in the wild, but the first generation of fish raised from wild parents in hatcheries are as successful at reproducing in their native rivers as their wild cousins. This finding means that hatcheries can use wild-recovered stock for their breeding programs, supplementing their efforts to sustain or enhance the wild-fish resource, and that “aquaculture-strain” salmon are just that, a domestic animal well suited to confinement rearing. These results parallel other studies showing that even hatchery fish bred from wild eggs are inferior to wild-produced fish. This implies that there are three distinct courses for salmon resource protection: habitat restoration for wild fish, augmentation of the wild resource with “first-generation hatchery fish and use of “confinement-acclimated” strains for dedicated aquaculture production systems.

Globally speaking, Norway and Chile are the leading producers of farmed salmon. Together they supply about two-thirds of the farmed salmon traded internationally.

Consumption
According to the National Fisheries Institute, salmon ranked third on its 2010 “Top Ten” list of the most consumed fish and seafood in the United States. That year, the average consumption of salmon was nearly 2.0 pounds per person, a slight decrease from 2009. 

Processing
During 2009, about two-thirds of all processed salmon was canned. That is,141.9 million pounds of salmon, with a value of $322.3 million, was canned. On the other hand, 74.1 million pounds of fresh and frozen salmon were processed into fillets and steaks valued at $331.7 million. Pink and sockeye salmon are the species typically used for canning.  (NMFS 2011)

Exports
According to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), fresh and frozen exports of U.S. salmon increased in both volume and value during 2010, to 161,000 tons and to $587.1 million, respectively. On the other hand, canned U.S. salmon exports continued to fall in both volume and value, totaling 41,038 tons and $179.0 million (NMFS 2011).

The largest markets for U.S. fresh and frozen salmon were (in order): China, Japan and Canada. During 2010, exports to China and to Canada both increased, while exports to Japan decreased. The largest buyers of U.S. canned salmon were (in order): Canada and the United Kingdom (UK). Exports to both countries declined in 2010.  (FAS 2010).

During 2010, the United States re-exported 792 tons of salmon valued at $4.5 million (NMFS 2011).

Imports
During 2010, imports of fresh and frozen salmon totaled 221,744 tons and were valued at $1.7 billion, a 2.4 percent decrease in volume and a 9.3 percent increase in value from 2009. (NMFS 2011)

Canada remained the largest supplier of salmon to the United States in 2010, by volume, followed by Norway and Chile. Canada was, by far, the largest source of fresh salmon while Norway was the largest source of frozen salmon. Norway was also the largest supplier of fresh and frozen salmon fillets, followed by Chile. (ERS 2011).

Trends
Recently, the Norwegian salmon industry announced its intention of resuming actions against the imposition of anti-dumping duties on whole salmon exports to the United States, effective since 1991. This could help Norwegian producers regain market share in this segment.

The recovery of the Chilean industry, as well as the positive outlook for domestic salmon fisheries, indicates that the supply of salmon to the U.S. market could be higher in 2011. Despite targeting different market segments, this development could ease the pressure on prices, which have shown an upward trend in the fresh fillets segment, while the whole fish markets have remained stable with a slight upward trend in some products. Currently, supplies are adequate for slow demand.
 


Sources
Aquaculture Data, Economic Research Service (ERS), USDA, 2011.

Census of Aquaculture (2005), USDA, 2006.

Global Agricultural Trade System (GATS), Foreign Ag Service (FAS), USDA, 2010.

Imports and Exports of Fishery Products: 2010 Summary, Fisheries Statistics Division, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), 2011.

Salmon Market Report, Globefish, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations, May 2011.

Study: Modern Hatcheries Aid Wild Salmon, Conservation Biology, 2006 - A group led by an Oregon State University geneticist cautions that relying on hatcheries to sustain salmon runs is likely to fail in the long run without restoration of river habitats.

Top 10 Consumed Seafood, National Fisheries Institute, aboutseafood.com, 2009 - Lists the top ten species consumed in the United States by pounds per person.