Selective breeding programs for faster-growing salmon have achieved dramatic production gains but raise welfare questions about whether physiological systems can adapt to support such rapid growth without health compromise.
Farmed salmon growth rate welfare mirrors the broiler chicken experience: remarkable production efficiency achieved through selection creates potential physiological trade-offs that require active welfare management. Unlike the broiler case where health problems are pervasive and severe, farmed salmon growth rate welfare issues are more manageable with appropriate nutrition, health monitoring, and multi-trait selection that includes welfare indicators alongside production. The question is whether the welfare management investment keeps pace with the production gains being selected. Progressive salmon breeding programs that explicitly include health and welfare traits in selection programs demonstrate a model that is both achievable and welfare-positive compared to production-only selection.