Sea trout aquaculture development would face the same challenges as Atlantic salmon farming given their shared ecology. Welfare considerations should inform any future development.
Sea trout aquaculture has not been commercially developed, partly because Atlantic salmon provide a better-established production model. However, any development should undergo comprehensive welfare impact assessment drawing on the extensive evidence of salmon aquaculture welfare challenges. The irony that existing salmon farms damage wild sea trout through sea lice spillover makes welfare-positive aquaculture development a particular ethical challenge. If sea trout aquaculture were developed, it should incorporate lessons from decades of salmon aquaculture welfare research from the outset.