Ask any seafood eater: the wild vs. farm-raised salmon debate is a highly charged and interesting topic. So we at Aqui visit the question of seafood in our menu regularly. Here is where our view is today.

Aqui is committed to serving natural, wild, organic, and sustainably-raised products, while maintaining exceptional value in its food offerings. As the demand for seafood continues to grow, both globally and at our restaurants, Aqui has chosen to offer both wild and farm-raised seafood in its menu.

Wild seafood, for example, is sometimes highlighted in our specials, so as to limit Aqui’s impact on wild fish stocks in the oceans. Sustainably raised farm salmon, sourced from British Columbia, is the basis for several of our popular core menu items. We sell a lot of this sustainably raised salmon in our restaurants; should we use wild salmon in our core menu instead, we would be contributing to a greater, detrimental impact on wild fish populations. Here is a link to finding out more about sustainably raised salmon.

Today, 60 percent of the world’s marine stocks either are fully fished, over-exploited, depleted or recovering at a slow rate. With seafood growing in demand, it is critical that sustainable fishing practices are followed. Sustainable seafood comes from fishing practices that allow a depleted or threatened fish population to recover to healthy levels. It also prevents healthy fish populations, such as wild salmon, from becoming depleted.

With the use of sustainably raised salmon, Aqui hopes to minimize further negative impacts to the marine environment and local species so important to our global and coastal environments. We also believe that this choice results in a healthy and nutritious product that is raised and harvested humanely.