Wild salmon face welfare challenges from the combined pressures of climate change, fishing, and disease interactions with aquaculture.
Wild salmon welfare cannot be separated from the complex of pressures threatening population viability. Individual salmon experiencing heat stress during river migration, heavy sea lice burdens near farms, or exhaustion from failing to navigate past dam obstructions experience genuine welfare harms. Population decline creates the paradox that welfare-compromised survival matters increasingly as each individual represents more of the remaining population. Addressing wild salmon welfare requires integrated action across climate change mitigation, fisheries management, aquaculture regulation, and river infrastructure. Consumers who choose certified sustainable salmon support the fisheries management practices that best protect both wild salmon welfare and population recovery.