Land-based closed-containment aquaculture systems represent a potential solution to the welfare and environmental problems of open-net salmon farming, but face significant cost and scale barriers.
Closed-containment salmon farming addresses multiple interconnected welfare problems simultaneously. Sea lice infestation — endemic in open-net farming — is eliminated by removing fish from the sea environment where lice complete their life cycle. Water quality can be maintained at optimal levels. Disease transmission from wild fish is prevented. The welfare improvements are substantial, but the economics remain challenging. The path forward involves cost reduction through scale and technology improvement, energy cost management through renewable integration, and consumer and regulatory signals that value the welfare premium that closed systems deliver.