Intensive Atlantic salmon farming creates chronic crowding stress, elevated disease risk, and significant welfare challenges throughout the production cycle.
Salmon in crowded sea cages experience chronic social stress with limited ability to establish territories or escape aggressive interactions. Sea lice feeding on skin and gills cause persistent pain and tissue damage. Gill diseases reduce oxygen uptake, causing chronic respiratory stress. Treatment procedures including crowding, handling, and freshwater baths cause acute stress. The welfare implications of these combined pressures across production cycles are substantial.