Wild salmon populations face multiple threats from habitat degradation, dams, and fishing pressure. Salmon welfare considerations are beginning to enter conservation discussions.
Wild salmon welfare sits at the intersection of conservation biology and animal welfare ethics. Salmon face numerous threats that cause both population-level conservation problems and individual welfare harms. Dam passage causes injury and energy expenditure that depletes reserves needed for spawning. Fishing pressure, even catch-and-release, causes stress, injury, and elevated mortality in vulnerable populations. River warming reduces oxygen availability and causes chronic physiological stress. The conservation interventions that benefit salmon populations — dam removal, reduced fishing pressure, river restoration — are also welfare interventions that reduce individual suffering.