Developing meaningful welfare benchmarks for Atlantic salmon farming allows producers and auditors to measure and improve fish welfare outcomes across the production cycle.
Welfare benchmarking for farmed salmon has advanced significantly from the absence of any fish-specific measures toward a suite of validated, practically applicable indicators. The challenge is that fish welfare cannot be assessed through the behavioural and physiological markers used for mammals — new species-specific tools are required. Gill score, fin erosion, cataract prevalence and wound scoring provide assessable physical welfare indicators. Behavioural indicators like surface swimming and loss of equilibrium indicate acute welfare deterioration. Routine welfare assessment using these tools allows farms to identify problems early and track improvement over time. Incorporating welfare benchmarks into regulatory requirements and certification standards would drive sector-wide improvement.