With Salmon being one of the most enjoyed food items in the world, commercial fishing became so widespread it was no longer possible to sustainably manage. As a result of over fishing, wild salmon came close to extinction. Once this occurred, salmon became scarce, and as a consequence smoked salmon became a luxury item and prices soared. As a means to protect the species laws were put into place to manage the overfishing of salmon, and for this reason wild salmon today is generally more expensive than the farmed variant.
Farmed salmon often gets a bad name. People tend to have the misconception that all fish farming is performed inhumanely and has a taste and texture that is lackluster in comparison to wild. This is most often not the case. Just like anything else, there are good farms and there are bad farms. Sustainable salmon farming is 100% humane to the fish, and more importantly protects the wild salmon population. It also has a great taste and texture. In most cases, only a true connoisseur will be able to tell the difference between farmed and wild smoked salmon. It is important to remember that without sustainably farmed salmon, there would be no salmon remaining in the wild.
