Wild Salmon Welfare: Threats from Fishing and Climate Change

Wild salmon face mounting pressure from overfishing, habitat degradation, and climate change. Their welfare across their life cycle merits increasing attention.

Key Facts

Pacific salmon populations have declined by 90% or more in many rivers compared to historical levels.
Atlantic salmon are now extinct in much of their former European and North American range.
Salmon experience long upstream migrations during spawning, requiring enormous physical endurance.
Climate change is warming rivers beyond thermal tolerance limits for salmon in many regions.
Bycatch of non-target salmon species in commercial fisheries causes significant mortality and welfare harm.

Welfare Considerations

Wild salmon welfare encompasses the entire life cycle from freshwater spawning grounds to ocean foraging and back. During upstream migration, salmon face exhaustion, predation, low oxygen levels, and in degraded rivers, blocked passage through dams. Capture by commercial fishing involves air exposure, scale damage, and compression injuries. For catch-and-release recreational fishing, evidence shows significant physiological stress and mortality in some contexts, particularly at high water temperatures. Conservation of salmon habitats and wild populations is the most important welfare intervention, ensuring fish can complete natural life cycles in functional ecosystems.

What You Can Do

Choose wild-caught salmon from fisheries certified by the Marine Stewardship Council.
Support river restoration projects that remove obsolete dams and restore salmon passage.
Reduce or eliminate consumption of farmed salmon linked to high sea lice burdens on wild populations.
Advocate for fishing regulations that protect thermally stressed salmon populations during warm periods.
Support Indigenous-led salmon conservation programs with deep ecological knowledge of local rivers.