Food - Drink
The Difference Between Farmed And Wild Catfish
By HALDAN KIRSCH
While not as popular as fattier fish like salmon, catfish can be an excellent option for anyone looking to work more seafood into their diet. Like any other seafood, some catfish are raised in the wild while others are farm bred, but what is the difference between the two?
The National Audubon Society, Monterey Bay Aquarium, and Environmental Defense consider catfish a sustainable and environmentally friendly seafood product. Farm-raised catfish have far more efficient nutrition sources as they only need about two pounds of feed for each pound of growth, compared to salmon, which takes five pounds.
Wild-caught catfish can taste muddy due to their less controlled growing environment, while farm fish have a more consistent, cleaner flavor. Wild-caught catfish may also contain trace amounts of chemical pollutants in their water compared to farm-raised fish, which are given antibiotics to prevent or treat illness.