Enrichment for Farmed Atlantic Salmon

Environmental enrichment for farmed Atlantic salmon is an emerging area aiming to improve welfare by providing opportunities for natural behaviour.

Key Facts

Wild salmon occupy complex habitat with diverse flow regimes, prey, and shelter
Farmed salmon in net pens experience uniform environments with limited complexity
Current barriers and refuge structures in net pens show some welfare benefit
Feeding enrichment through varied feeding schedules and positions reduces stereotypic swimming
The salmon welfare literature is growing but enrichment science remains underdeveloped compared to terrestrial species

Welfare Considerations

Atlantic salmon in bare net pen environments lack the environmental complexity of their wild habitat, potentially causing boredom and stereotypic behaviour. Provision of physical structures providing shelter and varied flow conditions, together with feeding enrichment, shows promise for improving welfare indicators in farmed salmon. The concept of enrichment for fish is novel and its implementation faces practical challenges in sea cage systems. Growing evidence that fish benefit from environmental complexity should drive innovation in aquaculture design rather than continued acceptance of bare net environments.

What You Can Do

Support aquaculture research funding for salmon enrichment development
Advocate for enrichment requirements in salmon aquaculture welfare standards
Choose salmon certified by schemes with welfare outcome monitoring requirements
Engage with industry bodies on incorporating salmon enrichment into production guidelines