Aquaculture

Farmed Salmon Infectious Disease Welfare

Infectious salmon anemia, pancreas disease, and heart and skeletal muscle inflammation cause significant welfare losses in farmed Atlantic salmon.

Key Facts

ISA virus can cause entire farm mortality events requiring emergency culls
PD and HSMI cause cardiac dysfunction and muscle inflammation reducing welfare
Disease events require antibiotic and antiviral treatments with welfare side effects
Fallowing periods between production cycles reduce disease carryover

Welfare Considerations

Infectious salmon diseases cause significant individual and population welfare problems. Fish with cardiac disease experience reduced capacity for normal behavior, and mass disease events require mass culling with associated welfare costs. Prevention through farm management and fallowing is more welfare-compatible than treatment.

What You Can Do

Support salmon from farms with documented disease management and fallowing programs
Advocate for farm licensing requirements that include disease management standards
Back research into disease-resistant salmon strains as a welfare intervention
Reduce salmon consumption or choose certified products from low-disease operations