Open-net aquaculture affects surrounding ecosystems through waste, disease and escapes, creating welfare concerns for wild fish populations beyond the farm boundaries.
Open-net aquaculture creates welfare harms beyond farm boundaries through disease transmission and chemical exposure affecting wild fish populations. Wild juvenile salmon passing through lice-infested farm areas experience parasitic burden that impairs their ocean migration survival. These ecosystem-level welfare effects on wild animals are often invisible in farm-level welfare assessments but represent significant aggregate harm. Responsible siting regulations and transitions toward closed containment address these welfare concerns alongside environmental ones.