Sea lice infestation is the most significant ongoing welfare challenge in Atlantic salmon farming, with management approaches that balance fish welfare, ecological impact, and production economics.
Sea lice management in salmon farming illustrates the welfare complexity inherent in intensive aquaculture — the parasite causes welfare harm, but many treatment approaches cause additional acute welfare costs to address chronic welfare problems. The welfare calculus is challenging: are painful bath treatments justified to reduce ongoing lice-associated suffering? Preventive approaches — site selection, fallowing, barrier technologies — that avoid both lice buildup and treatment stress represent the highest welfare standard and should be the industry target.