The inspection of fish farms for welfare compliance is challenging due to the aquatic environment and large population sizes; developing effective inspection protocols is an urgent priority.
Fish farm welfare inspection faces fundamental challenges that arise from the aquatic environment and the scale of production. Visual inspection of fish in large sea cages is inherently limited; behavioural sampling requires trained observers and appropriate protocols. The reliance on mortality as the primary welfare indicator means that chronic low-level welfare problems that do not cause elevated mortality go undetected. Developing effective inspection protocols for aquaculture requires investment in training, technology, and validation research that has historically been applied to terrestrial livestock systems much more comprehensively. The Norwegian SWIM protocol for salmon welfare represents the most developed current approach.