Aquaculture

Sea Lice in Farmed Salmon — Welfare Crisis

Sea lice infestation is one of the most significant welfare and production problems in Atlantic salmon farming.

Key Facts

Sea lice are ectoparasites that attach to salmon skin and gill tissue causing lesions and immune stress
Heavy infestations cause open wounds, secondary infection, and death in affected fish
Treatments including chemical pesticides, biological control (cleaner fish), and lasers all have welfare implications
Sea lice spread from farms to wild salmon passing nearby, threatening wild populations
Norwegian salmon farms lose an estimated 15 percent of production value to sea lice annually

Welfare Considerations

Sea lice infestation causes significant welfare harm to farmed salmon through physical lesions, immune stress, and the additional stress of treatment procedures. The welfare and conservation impacts are inseparable: reducing sea lice benefits both farmed fish welfare and the survival of wild salmon passing near farms. Investment in effective, welfare-positive sea lice management is an industry imperative.

What You Can Do

Choose salmon from farms with documented low sea lice levels and welfare-positive control methods
Support research into non-chemical sea lice control methods with lower welfare impacts
Advocate for mandatory sea lice reporting and regulatory thresholds in aquaculture
Reduce farmed salmon consumption or switch to lower-impact alternatives