Atlantic salmon is the most economically significant farmed fish species globally, and welfare standards have improved substantially but significant gaps remain between best practice and common practice.
Atlantic salmon welfare standards represent some of the most developed in aquaculture, yet the gap between stated standards and measured outcomes remains substantial. Operational welfare indicators assessed at processing plants reveal cumulative welfare histories in fin condition, cataract prevalence, and wound healing that simple pen inspections cannot capture. High mortality rates across the industry indicate that even certified farms frequently fall short of the welfare outcomes that indicators should achieve. The industry faces inherent tensions between production efficiency and welfare investment; disease management, crowding during treatments, and slaughter method all present ongoing welfare challenges. The trend is toward improved standards driven by consumer pressure, certification requirements, and industry recognition that welfare correlates with production efficiency, but progress remains uneven across jurisdictions and company sizes.