How predator control around fish net pens affects both fish welfare and marine mammal and bird welfare.
Predator management at aquaculture facilities creates a welfare conflict between protecting farmed fish from stress and injury from predation, and protecting the welfare of marine mammals and birds that approach facilities. Acoustic deterrents that reduce mammal access cause welfare harm to the very animals they exclude. Anti-predator nets that trap and drown seals cause severe welfare harm to protected species. The welfare-optimal solution - closed containment systems that physically separate fish from predator access - resolves this conflict but requires substantial infrastructure investment. In the meantime, non-lethal, welfare-considerate predator management that minimizes harm to all species involved is both an ethical and increasingly a legal requirement.