Aquaculture Welfare

Aquaculture Fish Disease Welfare

Disease management in aquaculture directly affects fish welfare through the suffering caused by disease itself and through the welfare implications of treatment interventions.

Key Facts

Infectious salmon anaemia and pancreas disease cause significant suffering in farmed salmon
Treatment with bath chemicals causes handling and chemical stress in addition to disease effects
Vaccination programs prevent disease and associated suffering more humanely than treatment
Biosecurity measures reduce disease transmission and the associated welfare burden
Early disease detection through monitoring reduces duration of suffering before intervention

Welfare Considerations

Aquaculture disease management is fundamentally a welfare intervention - both disease itself and treatment stress affect fish welfare. Prioritising prevention through vaccination and biosecurity over reactive treatment reduces both disease suffering and treatment welfare costs.

What You Can Do

Support aquaculture practices that prioritise disease prevention through vaccination
Learn about the welfare impacts of common aquaculture diseases
Advocate for disease monitoring requirements in aquaculture welfare standards