Ask a connoisseur and you will hear that a farmed salmon has none of the flavor of its wild-caught counterparts (the complaint is similar for other species, too). True or not, fish farming is here to stay. It’s grown into a huge industry over the past few decades, to the point where experts now believe that farming will surpass traditional fishing as a source of the world’s seafood before the decade is out. One problem with farming though is that the fish do not naturally ingest enough Omega-3 (that famously healthful fatty acid), and so have to be given extra by farmers. And the Omega-3 supplement has become increasingly expensive as the demand for it also rises among human consumers.
An ingenious solution to the problem is being developed in Norway, where scientists are testing a new technology that traps carbon dioxide from the air and uses it to produce Omega-3. Pollution in, fish food out. What’s not to love? Funding has been sketchy for the last few years, but developers are hopeful that the project will lead to a viable way of supporting the world’s aquafarms while at the same time reducing our carbon footprint. For this job, Norway is the place to be. Norwegian aquaculture produces about 60% of the farmed Atlantic salmon in the world. It’s the country’s second largest export, after natural gas.
