Integrated sea lice management in Atlantic salmon farming combines biological, mechanical, and chemical controls to reduce treatment frequency and associated welfare costs.
Integrated sea lice management represents a genuine welfare improvement pathway compared to repeated chemical treatment. Each treatment event — whether thermal, mechanical, or chemical — imposes acute welfare costs on every fish in a pen. Reducing treatment frequency through IPM directly reduces the cumulative welfare burden on individual fish. The introduction of cleaner fish as biological controls creates a new welfare consideration: wrasse and lumpfish kept at high density, without adequate shelters or appropriate food, experience welfare problems of their own. Effective IPM requires welfare investment in cleaner fish as well as salmon, recognising that biological controls are themselves animals deserving of appropriate care.