Barramundi, U.S. farmed
Barramundi is a tropical whitefish that is usually farmed in closed recirculating systems in the U.S., which conserve resources by re-circulating the water and treating effluent (waste) before it leaves the facility to limit pollution. No therapeutics or hormones are utilized in U.S. facilities, and they have no detectable mercury levels. Barramundi are fed a mostly vegetarian diet, and the small amount of fishmeal they consume comes partially from herring byproducts – so they are actually net protein producers, with a conversion of about .9 pounds of wild fish to produce 1 pound of farmed fish. Therefore, farming of barramundi in the U.S. does not deplete the wild fish stock as does farming of many other species that that require higher levels of fish protein in their diet. However, international production of barramundi is not as strictly regulated. Look for a U.S.-raised product.
