Wrasse used as cleaner fish in Atlantic salmon farms suffer high mortality, inadequate husbandry and welfare harms from a poorly developed cleaner fish industry.
Wrasse are teleost fish with capacity for pain and stress, yet welfare provisions for them in salmon farming are far behind those for salmon themselves. High mortality reflects inadequate understanding of wrasse social, nutritional and environmental needs. The scale of wrasse use means that improving their welfare has high impact: reducing mortality through better husbandry and replacing wild capture with certified farmed stock are key priorities.