I have a natural pond, 40x40x5. Five years ago I put a 20 inch blue channel cat (Bubba)in the pond to keep the bottom clean. I also added 7 bluegill. The same year my sister bought me 20 feeder fish to get the pond going. I have since added 7 select koi that started at 3 inches or smaller. Bubba is now about 2 1/2 feet long I can hand feed him, and I've seen fry less then an inch long swimming around him. I'm not saying he doesn't take an extra protien snack every now and then, but he is not overtly aggressive with any of the fish. We also have a large pond at our garden center with 2 yellow cats, about 2 feet long, that show no aggression toward our koi.

I buy Alaskan King Crab legs frozen, generally at the Japanese market because they have the best price. I have also bought frozen Ahi tuna for sashimi, and I will consider frozen shrimp, although fresh shrimp are always available, and so that isn't necessary. I won't buy tuna steaks that have been frozen, however, and I won't buy frozen swordfish or salmon. The one fish I can remember having been frozen that I liked was Rainbow Trout, and that was 30 years ago when I lived in San Francisco. The fish monger would come to our neighborhood, and we bought it on the street. Lars

This is complicated. Maybe we should just discuss brownie recipes. In lieu of that, let's just for now try to focus on two aspects of the question, food quality and conservation. Wasn't there someone who, early in the discussion, cited a large study published in Science magazine? I can't find that post now but the study is the most important one I am aware of. The full text can't be accessed at the Science web site without subscribing. It is available elsewhere on the web. The study sampled and compared wild and farmed salmon from many regions around the world. The level of PCBs and other dangerous substances was found to be "significantly" higher in farmed salmon. The word "significant", when used in this sort of document is understood to mean statistically significant, which is not the same as the every day usage. Statistical significance means that a difference between two samples can be proven mathematically at a certain criterion. It does not mean the difference is important. If I sprinkle 2 grains of salt on my order of fries and you sprinkle 4, the difference obviously is statistically significant. But is it important? Neither one is enough salt to affect the taste at all. Significant but not important. The study found, at some locations, levels of certain toxins at 10 or so parts per billion. At those levels, differences of say, 4 parts per billion would be significant. But important? FDA standards allow hundreds of times that concentration. But that is not the end of the controversy. Some, including the authors of the study, prefer the standards of the EPA over those of the FDA. EPA standards are much stricter. This is where science and politics collide. One might think that the "Food" and Drug Administration would take precedence over the "Environmental" Protection Administration in the matter of food safety. But that would be too simple. I have to observe that, although the importance to science of a "not statistically significant" finding is equal to, often greater than, one of "statistically significant". The importance in press releases is not. Everyone wants the results of their work to be "significant". Well, that is the health issue in a nutshell, a very small nutshell. The conservation issue is more difficult. Jim Here is a link that might be useful: Global Assessment of Organic Contaminants in Farmed Salmon

Wal Mart carries two types of packed salmon. The individual shrink wrapped skinless small fillets labeled wild salmon and the half sides of wild salmon. They are both from China. I've cooked both for years as it is the only salmon available locally except for farmed. I could drive an hour one way and expand my options but I rarely have the time. The individually wrapped salmon is yucky and best for salmon patties. The sides are nice because the perforations allow you to cook what you want. The quality is good and I like it almost as much as higher priced "good" salmon. I always look for the thickest sides as they grill and taste better to me. The China element? Well, we eat naturally 95% of the time so I ignore it and hope it's not laced with poison. It's not a huge part of our diet. If we ate salmon more than once a week I might do something else.