Selective breeding for sea lice resistance in Atlantic salmon offers a welfare-positive approach to reducing lice burdens and associated treatment interventions.
Sea lice resistance breeding offers a welfare-positive approach to parasite management that reduces both the suffering from lice infestation and the welfare harms associated with chemical and mechanical treatments. Fish with naturally lower lice susceptibility experience fewer treatment events and lower cumulative stress. The genetic approach addresses the root cause rather than managing consequences. Investment in resistance breeding programmes by the salmon industry would deliver sustained welfare improvements across the entire production system if widely adopted.