Selective breeding in Atlantic salmon has improved growth and disease resistance - but welfare trade-offs from rapid genetic change require careful monitoring.
Salmon selective breeding presents a welfare trade-off between production benefits (faster growth, disease resistance) and potential welfare costs (cardiovascular problems from rapid growth, immune trade-offs). The history of poultry and pig selective breeding offers a cautionary tale - production-focused selection without welfare monitoring created serious welfare problems. Proactive welfare monitoring of salmon genetic lines and explicit selection for welfare-positive traits (calm temperament, swimming performance, cardiac health) is essential. Genomic selection tools make simultaneous multi-trait selection feasible, enabling welfare-positive breeding without sacrificing production.