“Farmed salmon is less healthy than wild salmon.”
Farmed salmon is not less healthy than wild salmon in the ways that matter most.
A farmed label is not a reason to skip salmon or pay more for wild. Both are good choices, and eating salmon or other fish regularly matters more than which kind you buy.
Choose the salmon, farmed or wild, that fits your budget and taste, and aim to eat fish about twice a week.
Farmed salmon often has as much or more omega-3 fat per serving than wild salmon, and contaminant levels in both are low enough that the benefits of eating fish outweigh the risks. Confidence is moderate because the studies measure what is in the fish, not people's health outcomes, and results vary by country, species and feed.
Farmed salmon is not less healthy than wild salmon in the ways that matter most. It often has as much or more omega-3 fat per serving, both are low in mercury, and contaminant levels in both are low enough that the benefits of eating salmon outweigh the risks.
The small grain of truth is that farmed salmon has changed. As fish farms replaced some fish oil in feed with plant oils, omega-3 levels in Scottish farmed salmon fell by about half between 2006 and 2015, though it still had more omega-3 per serving than the wild salmon tested. A 2004 study found higher levels of PCBs, dioxins and similar chemicals in farmed salmon than in wild, especially farmed salmon from Europe. Since then, monitoring in Norway found that dioxins, PCBs, DDT and mercury in farmed salmon fell, mostly by 2014, and concluded that this lowered the health risk from these contaminants. A major review of fish and health found that eating fish once or twice a week was linked with about a 36 percent lower risk of dying from heart disease, mostly in studies that followed people over time, and that the low levels of PCBs and dioxins in fish are outweighed by the benefits. The FDA lists salmon among its Best Choices for low mercury and does not separate farmed from wild.
Does farmed salmon give you heart-healthy omega-3 fats?
Yes. In a study of more than 3,000 Scottish farmed salmon, a 100 gram serving (about 3.5 ounces) had 1.36 grams of the omega-3 fats EPA and DHA in 2015, down from 2.74 grams in 2006 but still more than the 0.76 grams found in the wild Pacific salmon tested.
- Sprague M, Dick JR, Tocher DR. Impact of sustainable feeds on omega-3 long-chain fatty acid levels in farmed Atlantic salmon, 2006-2015. Scientific Reports. 2016;6:21892. DOI: 10.1038/srep21892. PMID: 26899924
- Hannisdal R, Nøstbakken OJ, Berntssen MHG, Duinker A, Ho QT, Kjellevold M, Bernhard A, Frøyland L, Maage A, Lundebye AK, Sissener NH, Dahl L, Ørnsrud R, Sele V. Nutrients and contaminants in farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) fillet and fish feed from 2006 to 2021. Journal of Agriculture and Food Research. 2025;21:101933. DOI: 10.1016/j.jafr.2025.101933
- Hites RA, Foran JA, Carpenter DO, Hamilton MC, Knuth BA, Schwager SJ. Global assessment of organic contaminants in farmed salmon. Science. 2004;303(5655):226-229. DOI: 10.1126/science.1091447. PMID: 14716013
- Mozaffarian D, Rimm EB. Fish intake, contaminants, and human health: evaluating the risks and the benefits. JAMA. 2006;296(15):1885-1899. DOI: 10.1001/jama.296.15.1885. PMID: 17047219
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Advice about Eating Fish. Content current as of 03/05/2024