Aquaculture

Wild Salmon vs Farmed: A Welfare Comparison

Comparing the welfare experiences of wild and farmed salmon reveals different welfare challenges — wild fish face predation and starvation while farmed fish face crowding and disease — both deserving consideration.

Key Facts

Wild Atlantic salmon populations are critically depleted in most of their historic range
Farmed salmon dominate global salmon consumption at over 70% of supply
Wild salmon face predation, parasitism, starvation, and exhausting migrations
Farmed salmon face crowding stress, sea lice, treatment procedures, and inadequate stunning
Both wild and farmed salmon demonstrate pain responses and cognitive abilities indicating welfare significance

Welfare Considerations

Neither wild nor farmed salmon welfare is unproblematic, but the welfare challenges are different in character. Wild salmon experience the natural challenges of a predator-prey world; farmed salmon experience human-created stressors that could be mitigated. The ethical framework for wild salmon welfare focuses on minimizing human-caused harms; for farmed salmon it focuses on production system improvement.

What You Can Do

Choose salmon from certified lower-impact sources whether wild or farmed
Support wild salmon habitat and population restoration programs
Advocate for farmed salmon welfare improvement including better slaughter methods
Reduce overall salmon consumption to reduce pressure on both wild and farmed systems
Donate to organizations working on both wild salmon conservation and farmed salmon welfare