Our Story
Wild Friendly Farmed Salmon
The Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF) is a world-leading science and advocacy organization dedicated to conserving and restoring wild Atlantic salmon. [More about us].
Salmon farming with open netpens in marine waters is one of the core issues affecting wild salmon and wild rivers, so ASF began research and collaboration to support a transition to more sustainable farming practices in 2010. ASF worked closely with The Conservation Fund Freshwater Institute in the U.S. along with others to support development of land-based recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) since these solve many open netpen problems.
In 2013, the Namgis people of British Columbia launched Kuterra, the first commercial land-based RAS salmon company in North America. Today, there are many land-based salmon farms in North America and around the world.
In 2021, we realized that land-based farmers working hard to transition the world to more sustainable foods are facing a challenge in the market-place where their products stand alongside salmon from open netpens. Many consumers, retail stores, restaurants, and the general public see two products that look alike, but are produced in completely different ways. The difference is key to putting us on a path to sustainability, where land-based salmon products will help protect and restore wild salmon and wild rivers.
This website starts by providing the basic information needed to make sustainable choices. You can learn the key differences in salmon production systems, and find the locations of leading producers and sources of land-based salmon products. This will help everyone access land-based salmon at local stores, restaurants, and food markets. This alone is not enough so we are also working directly with retailers, distributors, restaurants, salmon farmers, government and business leaders to make sure the transition from open netpens to land-based salmon is fully realized.
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