Patagonia Book The New Fish

In the early 1970s, a group of scientists sought solutions to increase the food available for the growing global population. They turned to the sea. After sampling the genes of different salmon from 41 rivers in Norway and Sweden, they designed a new salmon, fatter and with faster growth. This extraordinary innovation marked the beginning of a new industry: salmon farming.

This industry spread from the coasts of Norway to Scotland, Canada, Australia, Ireland, Chile, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and the United States. Sales soared, jobs were created, and a new food, farmed salmon, spread around the world. Everywhere, people bought and enjoyed this fish available in abundance: grilled, poached, roasted, in sushi or sashimi. There was gratitude for this delicious and inexpensive protein.

But at what cost?

We now know that unforeseen consequences arose: some of these fish escaped, competing with other fish in the sea for food. The new fish spread diseases, sea lice multiplied, and the population of wild salmon decreased.

In an award-winning investigation, conducted over five years, authors Simen Sætre and Kjetil Østli delve deeply into Norway's role in the global salmon industry and provide, for the first time, a comprehensive assessment of the harmful effects of salmon farming. From lice to escapees, the concentration of cage waste in the fjords that wild salmon pass through to reach their natal streams, to the fact that salmon farming leads to a net reduction in ocean-derived proteins, the findings are not bright. Recent victories, such as the ban on net pens in the waters of the State of Washington, indicate that awareness is growing about the environmental cost of industrial fish.

It seems that we continue to make the same mistakes until we understand them. The New Fish blends nature writing from the Norwegian fjords, the Canadian coast, the Icelandic landscapes, and the far south of Chile, character-driven literary journalism, and classic investigative journalism. The authors begin with this question: what happens when we create a new animal and place it in the sea? This book will provide you with the answer.