Coho salmon farming is less common than Atlantic salmon but growing across the Pacific rim. The welfare challenges closely parallel those of the Atlantic salmon industry, with crowding, sea lice, and slaughter welfare as primary concerns.
Coho salmon welfare mirrors the challenges of Atlantic salmon farming at somewhat smaller scale. The species' natural territorial behaviour is incompatible with high-density sea cage production, producing aggression-related injuries that affect a significant proportion of cage populations. Sea lice management in coho involves the same welfare trade-offs as in Atlantic salmon: chemical treatments cause osmotic stress and irritation, biological control using cleaner wrasse introduces welfare concerns for those fish, and mechanical treatments (warm water or high-pressure systems) cause acute stress responses. Slaughter welfare varies significantly: some Chilean producers have invested in electrical stunning before killing, but the majority of coho slaughter globally still involves ice slurry immersion without prior insensibilisation. Climate change represents an emerging welfare threat — rising Chilean coastal water temperatures push beyond the thermal tolerance of coho, causing chronic heat stress and increased disease susceptibility.