Cleaner Wrasse Welfare in Salmon Louse Management

Cleaner wrasse and lumpsucker fish used to control sea lice on salmon farms are farmed animals with their own welfare needs that are frequently overlooked.

Key Facts

Up to 25 million cleaner fish (wrasse and lumpsuckers) are deployed annually in Norwegian salmon farms
Most cleaner fish are wild-caught, raising both supply sustainability and welfare concerns
Farmed wrasse have poor welfare records including high mortality and disease rates
Wrasse do not survive cold water and die en masse at end of salmon production cycles
Welfare standards specific to cleaner fish are underdeveloped compared to salmon

Welfare Considerations

Cleaner wrasse and lumpsuckers are deployed as biological pest control tools with minimal consideration of their individual welfare. Wild-caught wrasse face capture stress and unfamiliar captive conditions. Farmed wrasse experience poor welfare from overcrowding, inappropriate diet, and inadequate husbandry. Cold water mortality at harvest end eliminates entire cohorts without humane killing. The welfare of tens of millions of cleaner fish represents a major unaddressed issue in salmon aquaculture sustainability.

What You Can Do

Advocate for mandatory cleaner fish welfare standards in salmon certification
Support research into improved wrasse husbandry and welfare
Encourage salmon farms to implement humane cleaner fish management
Back reduced reliance on cleaner fish through vaccine and mechanical lice control
Choose salmon from farms with transparent cleaner fish welfare reporting