Biological, environment, and social conflicts caused by salmon farming By Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Research , July, 2015 What is Salmon Farming? Salmon aquaculture (farming) is the industrial production of salmon from egg to market in a net-cage, pond or contained system. Most of the industry still uses open net-cages in the ocean , and these floating feedlots hold up to a million fish in an area the size of two football fields. In BC, the open net-cages are generally sited in sheltered bays along the coast in close proximity to wild salmon streams and rivers. Salmon Farm Facts A salmon farm is likely to hold 500,000 to 750,000 fish in an area the size of four football fields. The biomass of farmed salmon at one farm site can equal 480 Indian bull elephants – that is 2,400 tonnes of eating, excreting livestock. Salmon are carnivores. On average it takes two to five kilograms of wild fish (used in feed) to produce one kilogram of farmed salmon