Salmon Farm Net Pen Welfare | Animal Welfare Hub

Net pen salmon aquaculture creates chronic welfare challenges through crowding, disease pressure and environmental contamination.

Key Facts

Atlantic salmon farms typically stock at 15-25 kg of fish per cubic meter
Wild salmon occupy territories of several square meters each — net pen density is thousands of times higher
Sea lice, infectious salmon anemia and other diseases spread rapidly at high densities
Environmental impacts including sea floor degradation create regulatory pressure for land-based alternatives

Welfare Considerations

Net pen salmon farming creates persistent welfare challenges that are difficult to resolve within the production model. High stocking densities cause chronic stress and social conflict. Disease pressure requires frequent interventions — treatments and handling events — that themselves cause acute stress. The welfare challenges of net pen salmon farming drive interest in land-based recirculating aquaculture systems that control water quality and density, at higher cost.

What You Can Do

Choose salmon certified to welfare standards with stocking density limits
Support development of land-based salmon aquaculture systems
Advocate for mandatory stocking density and welfare standards in salmon farming regulations
Reduce consumption of conventionally farmed salmon given welfare and environmental concerns