Aquaculture Cleaner Fish Welfare

Wrasse and lumpfish are used as biological controls for sea lice in salmon farming. Their welfare needs are often neglected despite being sentient fish with specific husbandry requirements.

Key Facts

Cleaner fish mortality rates in salmon farms are often 80-100% within a single salmon production cycle
Wrasse and lumpfish have specific temperature, hiding, and diet requirements that are rarely met in salmon farms
Welfare certification for cleaner fish is underdeveloped compared to salmon welfare standards
Breeding programs for lumpfish are being developed to reduce wild capture pressure on these species

Welfare Considerations

Cleaner fish welfare represents an uncomfortable irony in salmon aquaculture: fish used to improve salmon welfare often experience terrible welfare themselves. High mortality rates indicate chronic stress, disease, and nutritional failure. Addressing cleaner fish welfare requires recognition that they are sentient animals deserving welfare consideration, investment in appropriate housing, diet, and healthcare, and development of welfare standards comparable to those for the salmon they serve.

What You Can Do

Support aquaculture certification programs that include cleaner fish welfare requirements
Advocate for salmon welfare standards to explicitly include requirements for cleaner fish welfare
Support development of sea lice vaccines that would reduce reliance on living cleaner fish
Choose salmon from farms that are working to improve or eliminate cleaner fish welfare problems