New Zealand is a major producer of premium Chinook (king) salmon in sea cage aquaculture in the Marlborough Sounds, with welfare standards increasingly integrated into production.
Welfare concerns include sea lice infestations requiring treatment, jellyfish blooms causing respiratory injury, crowding during grading, and pre-slaughter welfare at processing. New Zealand producers have invested in percussion stunning technology and welfare-focused husbandry protocols. Predator exclusion netting systems reduce interaction with marine mammals. The industry has generally maintained lower stocking densities than Norwegian equivalents.