Selective breeding programs for farmed Atlantic salmon have improved growth and disease resistance but also raise welfare concerns about the traits being selected and their health implications.
Salmon selective breeding has demonstrated that genetic approaches can dramatically improve health and disease outcomes — a model for welfare-positive genetics. However, the history of production-focused breeding in other species warns against narrow optimization. Growth selection without welfare metrics risks creating salmon analogous to broiler chickens — biologically optimized for production at the expense of health. The most progressive salmon breeding programs now incorporate welfare indicators including stress response profiles, spinal health, and behavior in their selection criteria, treating welfare not as a constraint on breeding but as an objective to maximize alongside productivity.