How selective breeding programs for farmed salmon affect welfare outcomes and what responsible genetics looks like.
Salmon genetics has a profound effect on the welfare of farmed fish. Breeding programmes that prioritise growth rate above all other traits risk producing fish with compromised structural integrity and disease susceptibility — analogous to the welfare problems seen in fast-growing broiler chickens. Welfare-integrated breeding programmes that include health robustness, disease resistance, and skeletal integrity alongside production traits can improve welfare outcomes without sacrificing production efficiency. Genomic tools make this more achievable than ever, and the aquaculture sector has a responsibility to use them in ways that improve rather than compromise the welfare of farmed fish.