Farmed Animals

Farmed Salmon Biosecurity and Disease Management

Disease outbreaks in salmon aquaculture cause mass mortality and significant welfare harm; biosecurity protocols and vaccination programs are the welfare-positive prevention approach.

Key Facts

Infectious salmon anemia (ISA) and pancreas disease (PD) cause significant mortality in farm operations
Vaccination programs have dramatically reduced antibiotic use in Norwegian salmon aquaculture
Sea lice contribute to immune suppression making salmon more vulnerable to secondary infections
ICES standards require mortality monitoring and reporting as a welfare indicator
Cleaner fish (wrasse and lumpfish) used as biological sea lice control have high welfare concerns of their own

Welfare Considerations

Mass mortality events in salmon farms represent enormous welfare harms - hundreds of thousands of fish dying from infection in conditions of crowding and distress. Disease prevention through vaccination is both economically and welfare-preferable to disease management. The welfare of cleaner fish used as biological lice control is an emerging concern - these fish also suffer high mortality rates and require their own welfare standards.

What You Can Do

Support salmon from farms with documented vaccination programs and low antibiotic use
Advocate for welfare standards covering cleaner fish used in salmon aquaculture
Choose ASC-certified salmon where available as a proxy for better environmental standards
Reduce salmon consumption or shift to plant-based omega-3 alternatives