Sea lice treatments including chemical, thermal, and mechanical methods each carry welfare implications for farmed salmon, requiring careful selection and application protocols.
Sea lice treatment welfare presents a genuine dilemma: untreated sea lice cause progressive welfare harm through skin damage and physiological stress, but treatment methods themselves cause acute welfare harms during application. The welfare-optimal approach minimizes both chronic infestation burden and acute treatment stress. Cleaner fish biological control, when implemented with attention to cleaner fish welfare as well, offers ongoing reduction in lice burden without periodic acute treatment stress. Treatment welfare protocols must include minimum handling time, appropriate temperatures and concentrations, and post-treatment recovery monitoring.