Aquaculture

Farmed Salmon Welfare: Challenges and Solutions

Atlantic salmon farming is a major industry with significant welfare challenges including sea lice, crowding, and pre-slaughter handling. Addressing these improves both welfare outcomes and product quality.

Key Facts

Global Atlantic salmon aquaculture produces approximately 2.7 million tonnes annually
Sea lice infestations affect a significant proportion of farmed salmon and cause chronic suffering
Salmon are sentient animals capable of experiencing pain, fear and chronic stress
Pre-slaughter percussive stunning followed by immediate gill cut is the gold standard slaughter method
Acoustic tagging studies show wild salmon swim up to 100 miles per day

Welfare Considerations

Farmed salmon live in conditions vastly different from their wild counterparts, with evidence of chronic stress from crowding, repeated delousing treatments, and compromised water quality. The precautionary principle, combined with growing scientific consensus on fish sentience, makes welfare improvements an ethical imperative. Consumer demand for certified higher welfare salmon is growing.

What You Can Do

Choose salmon certified to RSPCA Assured or ASC standards with welfare criteria
Support organisations like the Fish Welfare Initiative advocating for salmon welfare
Ask retailers about their salmon welfare policies and pre-slaughter stunning requirements
Reduce salmon consumption to decrease demand pressure on intensive aquaculture
Support research into sea lice prevention methods that avoid stress-inducing treatments