Wild Animals

Wild Salmon: Welfare During Migration and Spawning

Wild Atlantic salmon face cumulative welfare challenges during their remarkable migrations that are significantly worsened by human-altered landscapes.

Key Facts

Atlantic salmon migrate thousands of miles from ocean feeding grounds to spawning rivers
Fish passes allow salmon to bypass dams but are often poorly designed and exhausting
Water temperatures exceeding 20 degrees Celsius cause thermal stress and increased disease
Fewer than 10% of returning salmon complete successful spawning in many UK rivers
The Atlantic salmon is now classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List

Welfare Considerations

Salmon that navigate depleted rivers face exhausting journeys with diminished food, increased pathogens, and thermal stress. Fish attempting to ascend poorly designed fish passes expend energy reserves needed for spawning. Dying salmon after spawning release essential nutrients into river ecosystems in a process that, despite ending in death, represents a natural completion of their biological purpose rather than welfare harm in the conventional sense.

What You Can Do

Support river restoration and riparian habitat improvement
Advocate for fish pass quality standards and monitoring
Report suspected illegal salmon poaching to environmental authorities
Back reduced water abstraction from salmon spawning rivers
Support salmon conservation organisations and angling organisations working on river health