Genetic selection in Atlantic salmon has transformed aquaculture productivity, but welfare science is now examining whether breeding goals adequately account for fish wellbeing.
The salmon genetics frontier offers both promise and risk for welfare. Disease resistance and stress resilience traits could improve welfare for billions of fish annually if incorporated into standard breeding objectives. But growth-focused selection without welfare screening risks compounding skeletal, cardiac, and sensory health problems. The emerging principle is that welfare traits should be explicitly included in the breeding objective function — not left as accidental by-products of health selection. This requires industry commitment, regulatory encouragement, and ongoing welfare science to identify which traits matter most.