Aquaculture

Farmed Salmon Delousing Welfare

Sea lice treatments in salmon farming cause significant welfare harm through both chemical and physical delousing methods applied repeatedly throughout the production cycle.

Key Facts

Salmon may be deloused 3-8 times per production cycle in high-lice environments
Thermal delousing at 34 degrees Celsius causes heat stress and physical damage
Hydrogen peroxide treatments cause oxidative stress and gill damage at higher doses
Cleaner fish like wrasse and lumpfish used for biological control face their own welfare challenges

Welfare Considerations

Repeated delousing treatments impose cumulative welfare costs on farmed salmon. Each treatment event causes acute stress, and the frequency of treatment in high-lice environments means fish experience significant welfare compromise throughout production. Genetic resistance to lice offers a long-term alternative.

What You Can Do

Choose salmon certified by programs with explicit lice management welfare criteria
Advocate for treatment frequency limits in aquaculture welfare standards
Support research on lice-resistant salmon genetics as an alternative to repeated treatment
Reduce consumption of Atlantic salmon from high-lice marine environments