LAT Salmo salar
FRA Saumon Atlantique
ITA Salmone dell’Atlantico
ESP Salmón del Atlántico
GER Atlantischer Lachs

All you need to know about Atlantic Salmon

One of the Most Popular Fish in Switzerland

Atlantic salmon is one of the most popular and most consumed fish in Switzerland. Its aromatic and juicy meat can be prepared in a variety of ways and is suitable for almost all fish dishes.

Interesting to Know

The Atlantic salmon is found in the northern Atlantic. It lives along both the American East Coast and the European West Coast up to the Iberian Peninsula. As an anadromous migratory fish, the salmon ascends rivers to spawn in freshwater. Young salmon spend one to four years in their home river before transforming into “smolts” and migrating to the Atlantic.

In the ocean’s vast feeding grounds, salmon grow quickly. They can reach lengths of up to 1.5 meters and weights of 30 kg in just one to four years, becoming sexually mature. At this point, they return to their birth river to spawn. This arduous migration can cover several hundred kilometers. Most salmon die after reproduction due to the energy-consuming journey. Only a few manage to return to the sea to spawn again.

Salmon get their orange colour from the pigment astaxanthin. This is a natural carotenoid in their diet (like crustaceans) which is then deposited in the flesh. Astaxanthin also acts as an antioxidant with positive health effects. In farmed salmon, farmers add astaxanthin to the feed, which is often obtained from a natural process using algae.

Fisheries and Sustainability

Today, the commercial fishery for wild Atlantic salmon is negligible. It mostly occurs in the Baltic Sea, Ireland, or Greenland. Traditionally, fishers catch salmon with lines, hooks, and gillnets in river estuaries during their migratory routes. River fishing also has a long tradition among indigenous peoples and sport fishermen.

Wild Atlantic salmon populations collapsed dramatically during the 20th century. The primary cause was not overfishing, but habitat destruction. As a migratory fish, salmon depend on clear, unobstructed rivers to reach their spawning grounds. Due to dam construction and power plants, salmon have disappeared from many rivers over the last 150 years. It is now hard to imagine that centuries ago, salmon were abundant even in Swiss cities like Basel along the Rhine.

The Rise of Sustainable Aquaculture

Since most salmon today comes from aquaculture, sustainable production methods are essential. The salmon industry’s reputation has suffered from environmentally damaging practices. These included polluting seabeds with waste, high stocking densities in net pens, and using chemicals, antibiotics, and herbicides.

In recent years, the European industry has improved significantly. This change was driven by both consumer pressure and stricter regulations. For instance, farmers now control parasites (especially sea lice) with mechanical (lasers) or biological (cleaner fish) methods rather than chemical treatments. Farms no longer use the highly toxic herbicide ethoxyquin, which was formerly used to preserve fish feed.

Furthermore, the amount of fishmeal and fish oil in salmon feed has steadily decreased. It now accounts for about 45% of the feed, down from almost 100% in the past. With few new ocean net cages being approved in Europe, there is a strong trend towards environmentally friendly, land-based production in closed recirculation systems.

Despite these improvements, considerable differences remain between farms. For this reason, Original Fish offers salmon from farms that use low stocking densities, species-appropriate feed free of chemical additives, and purely biological or mechanical parasite controls.