Aquatic Animal Welfare

Farmed Salmon Welfare: Land-Based Systems

Recirculating aquaculture systems on land offer significant welfare advantages over ocean net pens by eliminating sea lice, reducing disease pressure, and allowing precise environmental control.

Key Facts

Land-based RAS facilities recycle 95 to 99 percent of their water
RAS eliminates sea lice infestations without chemical treatments
Precise control of oxygen, temperature, and CO2 allows optimization for salmon welfare
RAS is currently more expensive than net pen production but costs are declining
Norway, Denmark, and Canada are seeing rapid growth in land-based salmon investment

Welfare Considerations

Land-based recirculating aquaculture represents a potential step change for farmed salmon welfare. By eliminating sea lice and enabling optimal water quality, these systems address two of the largest welfare concerns in marine net pen production. The main welfare risks in RAS are oxygen depletion events and handling stress during sorting and harvest. Careful operational monitoring and humane slaughter protocols are essential.

What You Can Do

Ask salmon retailers about the production system source for their products
Prefer RAS-raised salmon when available to support this welfare-improving technology
Support research institutions investigating welfare optimization in land-based systems
Advocate for aquaculture regulations that incentivize welfare-superior production methods