Atlantic salmon face multiple threats including habitat degradation, warming rivers, poor water quality, and overfishing. Welfare and conservation intersect in the struggle to restore salmon populations.
Wild salmon face welfare challenges throughout their life cycle: juveniles in rivers impacted by agricultural runoff and sediment; adults in the ocean facing net bycatch; returning spawners encountering obstructions, high temperatures, and low flows. Climate change is intensifying every stressor — rivers warm earlier, droughts occur more frequently, and timing mismatches between salmon migration and river conditions increase. Salmon welfare and conservation are inseparable goals: restoring river habitat, improving water quality, removing barriers, and reducing fishing pressure benefits both individual salmon welfare and population viability.