Farmed Salmon Welfare and In-Water Euthanasia

Euthanasia of sick or injured farmed salmon in water remains a welfare challenge, with humane methods often impractical at commercial scale.

Key Facts

Large salmon farms may house hundreds of thousands of fish making individual euthanasia impractical
Common methods include CO2 stunning and percussion but quality varies across operations
Disease outbreaks can require mass euthanasia decisions affecting entire pen populations
International salmon welfare guidelines recommend percussion stunning followed by brain destruction
The welfare of dying sick fish before euthanasia decision is made is often inadequate

Welfare Considerations

In-water euthanasia for farmed salmon presents scale and practical challenges that have no perfect solutions. Individual fish requiring euthanasia in a sea cage with hundreds of thousands of conspecifics are difficult to identify and isolate humanely. Delayed euthanasia decisions mean sick fish suffer longer than necessary. Mass euthanasia during disease outbreaks involves inherent welfare compromises. Better welfare outcomes require disease prevention through improved husbandry, real-time health monitoring systems, and trained staff with clear euthanasia decision protocols.

What You Can Do

Support salmon welfare certification schemes that include euthanasia protocol requirements
Advocate for investment in individual fish health monitoring technology in aquaculture
Choose salmon producers with transparent health management and euthanasia policies
Support research into practical, humane euthanasia methods applicable at aquaculture scale