Sustainable salmon buying guide
Salmon is one of the most popular seafood and sushi ingredients in the United States. In fact, on average, we each eat over three and a half pounds of salmon every year! Environmentally sustainable salmon can be tough to come by, but salmon lovers should not despair! Environmentally friendly options are out there, but it’s important to know what to buy and what to avoid.
Quick buying guide
Find out if the salmon is wild-caught or farmed. If in doubt, it’s probably farmed Atlantic salmon.
- Buy U.S. wild-caught salmon—only a tiny amount is red-rated (scroll down for more information).
- Buy wild-caught salmon from Canada, except Chinook or coho salmons caught on the South Coast of British Columbia, Canada.
- Buy salmon farmed in indoor recirculating tanks (also called RAS, land-based, and tank-farmed).
- Buy Chinook salmon farmed in New Zealand.
- Buy Atlantic salmon farmed in Maine or the Faroe Islands.
- Buy Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) or Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified salmon, except MSC certified salmon from Russia.
- Avoid farmed Atlantic salmon from Canada, Chile, Norway, or Scotland, except when purchasing from businesses committed to sustainable seafood, it’s ASC certified, or you confirm it’s from a yellow-rated source (scroll down for more information).
What to buy or avoid?
Atlantic salmon
All Atlantic salmon is farmed, and there’s no commercial fishing for this species in the U.S.
- All Atlantic salmon is farmed, and there’s no commercial fishing for this species in the U.S.
- Buy Atlantic salmon farmed in indoor recirculating tanks (also called RAS, land-based, and tank-farmed).
- Buy Atlantic salmon farmed in Maine, U.S.
- Buy Atlantic salmon farmed in the Faroe Islands, Denmark.
- Buy Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certified salmon.
- Avoid Atlantic salmon farmed in Canada, Chile, Norway, or Scotland, except when purchasing from businesses committed to sustainable seafood, it’s ASC certified, or you confirm it’s from one of the below yellow-rated sources:
- Magallanes region (Region 12) in Chile
- Production Areas 1, 12, or 13 in Norway
- Nova Scotia, Canada
- Orkney Islands, Scotland
© Scandposters
Chinook salmon
Chinook salmon is wild-caught and farmed. Some Chinook populations are healthy, and others are overexploited. Chinook salmon is also marketed as king salmon.
- Buy Chinook salmon caught in the U.S. or Canada, except from the U.S. Puget Sound or the South Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Salmon from overfished populations are caught in these locations.
- Buy Chinook salmon farmed in indoor recirculating tanks (also called RAS, land-based, and tank-farmed).
- Buy Chinook salmon farmed in New Zealand.
- Buy Chinook salmon farmed in British Columbia, Canada.
© Scandposters
Chum salmon
All chum salmon is wild-caught, and it’s unknown if the main chum populations are healthy, though overfishing is unlikely. Chum salmon is also marketed as dog salmon, keta salmon, or silverbrite salmon.
- Buy chum salmon caught in the U.S.
Coho salmon
Coho salmon is wild-caught and farmed. Some coho populations are healthy, and others are overexploited. Coho salmon is also marketed as silver salmon.
- Buy coho salmon caught in the U.S., except from the Columbia River above the Bonneville Dam. This salmon population is classified as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
- Buy coho salmon caught in Canada, except from British Columbia’s South Coast. Salmon from overfished populations are caught in this region.
- Buy coho salmon farmed in indoor recirculating tanks (also called RAS, land-based, and tank-farmed).
- Avoid coho salmon farmed in Chile because there are critical concerns about escaped farmed coho salmon and their impacts on wild, native species.
© Scandposters
Pink salmon
All pink salmon is wild-caught, and the populations are healthy. Pink salmon is also marketed as humpback salmon.
- Buy salmon from Washington. It's green-rated when caught with lift nets, and everything else is yellow-rated.
© Scandposters
Sockeye salmon
Sockeye salmon is only wild-caught, and most populations are healthy. Sockeye salmon is also marketed as blueback or red salmon.
- Buy sockeye salmon from the U.S. It's green-rated when caught in Puget Sound with lift nets during the early summer run, and everything else is yellow-rated.
Canned salmon
Canned and pouched salmon is usually pink or sockeye salmon, but Atlantic salmon, Chinook, chum, and coho salmons are also available.
- Buy salmon caught in the U.S.
- Buy salmon farmed in indoor recirculating tanks (also called RAS, land-based, and tank-farmed).
- Buy Atlantic salmon farmed in Maine or the Faroe Islands.
- Buy ASC or MSC certified salmon, except MSC certified salmon from Russia.
Certified salmon
- Buy Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) or Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified salmon, except MSC certified salmon from Russia.
Sushi
When sold as sushi, salmon is called sake, and salmon roe is ikura.
Follow the above tips and check the Seafood Watch Sushi Guide for quick reference.
More about our salmon recommendations
When is salmon environmentally sustainable?
Salmon rated green by Seafood Watch is the most environmentally sustainable. Green-rated wild salmon comes from a healthy population, and the well-managed fishery has little to no impact on other marine life and habitats. Farmed salmon is rated green when producers have minimal impacts on wild salmon populations and the environment.
Wild-caught salmon rated yellow almost always means the fishery targets a healthy salmon population, but it also catches salmon from at-risk or overfished populations. When farmed salmon is rated yellow, it means there’s significant uncertainty about the impacts on wildlife and the environment, or there’s one issue that needs substantial improvement.
Salmon rated red by Seafood Watch is not environmentally sustainable. For wild salmon, it means the fishery catches salmon from overexploited or endangered populations. Some fisheries also catch steelhead (also called rainbow trout) from at-risk populations. When farmed salmon is rated red, it means there are serious concerns about one or both of the following issues:
- Too many farmed salmon are escaping into the wild. When this happens, the farmed salmon can spread disease and potentially affect the genetic composition and fitness of native salmon populations. Learn more about escapes.
- Chemical use to control diseases or parasites is too high, information about chemical use is lacking, banned substances are used, or a combination of these issues. Learn more about antibiotic use in aquaculture.
What are the main salmon fishing and farming methods?
Fishing methods
The fishing methods used to catch salmon are selective, so bycatch of non-salmon species and habitat impacts are minimal. Here′s a quick look at the main fishing methods used to catch the salmon:
- Drift gillnets are long nets that drift with the current. Salmon are entangled when they swim into the netting.
- Lift nets are set between two vessels or platforms and oriented to take advantage of the route salmon travel to their spawning sites. As the salmon swim by, the nets are lifted to catch them.
- Purse seines surround salmon with a large wall of netting that’s closed like a drawstring purse to capture them.
- Trolling lines catch salmon with moving fishing lines and baited hooks.
Farming methods
Most salmon is farmed in marine net pens, though some is produced in freshwater net pens. Net pens are structures that hold salmon in open water as they grow. Open systems like net pens have inherent environmental risks, such as escapes and pollution impacts.
Salmon is also farmed in indoor recirculating tanks, and the amount available on the U.S. market is increasing. These systems continuously recirculate more than 90 percent of the water flow, and they’re rated green or yellow, depending on producers’ wastewater treatment practices. This farming method is also referred to as RAS (short for recirculating aquaculture systems), land-based, or tank-farmed, with variations of these terms sometimes used.
How to use this guide
Our green, yellow, and red ratings indicate environmental risk. We use our ratings and third-party certifications to make our recommendations.
Choose
- Green-rated seafood because environmental risks are low.
- Yellow-rated seafood because environmental risks are moderate.
Avoid
- Red-rated seafood because environmental risks are high, often due to overfishing, poor management, or harm to marine life and habitats.
Where to find sustainable seafood
When shopping or dining out, start by asking, “Do you sell sustainable seafood?” You may need to ask what species it is and where and how it was caught or farmed. If the business can’t answer or the label doesn’t provide this information, our Popular Seafood Guide can help you choose another ocean-friendly option.
More retailers and restaurants are sharing where their seafood comes from and how it was caught. But not all businesses have this information. When you ask questions, you help create demand for sustainable seafood and encourage businesses to offer it.
Grocery stores
We work with grocery stores to implement time-bound commitments to follow Seafood Watch recommendations. MOM’s Organic Market and PCC Community Markets follow our recommendations. Whole Foods Market follows our recommendations for wild seafood and has a proprietary standard for farmed seafood.
Restaurants
We work with major restaurant chains—including California Fish Grill and The Cheesecake Factory—that are implementing their sustainable seafood commitments.
Meal delivery services
Blue Apron and Hello Fresh only send their customers green-rated, yellow-rated, or certified seafood. Other meal delivery services may offer sustainable seafood, and we encourage you to ask them if they don’t.
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