Salmon in net pen aquaculture face welfare challenges including sea lice, crowding, aggressive interactions, and handling stress across millions of individual fish.
Fish sentience is well-supported by scientific evidence, and salmon in particular show sophisticated stress responses, pain avoidance, and social behaviors. Net pen conditions at commercial scales expose millions of fish to chronic parasitism, crowding stress, and repeated traumatic handling procedures. Welfare improvement requires reducing stocking densities and implementing less painful treatment methods.