Wild Salmon Welfare: Fisheries, Dams, and Hatchery Impacts

Wild salmon populations face threats from overfishing, dam-blocked migration, hatchery competition, sea lice from farms, and climate change that affect both population welfare and the welfare of individual fish.

Key Facts

Wild Pacific salmon populations have declined by 90% or more in many river systems compared to historical abundance, with habitat loss and overfishing primary drivers
Salmon experience dramatic physiological changes during their migration from ocean to freshwater spawning grounds, including complete remodeling of organ systems and cessation of feeding
Dam passage is one of the most significant welfare challenges for migratory salmon, with fish ladder passage often incomplete and turbine mortality affecting downstream migrating juveniles
Sea lice from nearby salmon farms infect wild juvenile salmon at rates that can cause debilitating skin damage and mortality during the vulnerable smolt migration stage
Hatchery-reared salmon introduced to supplement wild populations can compete with wild fish for food and territory while transmitting domestication-selected traits that reduce wild population fitness

Welfare Considerations

Wild salmon welfare involves suffering at multiple life stages from anthropogenic causes. Passage through fish ladders and dam turbines causes physical injury and mortality. Sea lice infestations from adjacent salmon farms cause skin destruction and immune stress in wild juveniles navigating close to farm sites during migration. Overfishing bycatch, including the incidental capture of non-target salmon species and the injury and stress of fish released after capture in recreational fisheries, causes individual welfare harm. Climate change is altering both ocean prey availability and freshwater spawning temperature in ways that cause starvation and thermal stress. Dam removal, sea lice management requirements for farms in migration corridors, and climate action are the highest-leverage welfare interventions for wild salmon populations.

What You Can Do

Support dam removal campaigns and river restoration projects that restore salmon migration access to historical spawning habitat
Advocate for regulations requiring salmon farms to be located well away from wild salmon migration corridors to reduce sea lice transmission
Choose wild salmon caught with low-bycatch methods including hook-and-line fishing over trawl-caught fish where labeling allows identification
Donate to river restoration organizations working on habitat improvement, dam removal, and fish passage enhancement
Reduce salmon consumption or choose certified sustainable sources to reduce pressure on declining wild salmon populations