Aquaculture Welfare

Farmed Salmon Anaesthesia Welfare

Anaesthesia of fish during handling, treatment, and sampling reduces stress and welfare harm significantly compared to unanaesthetized procedures.

Key Facts

MS-222 (tricaine) and AQUI-S are commonly used fish anaesthetics in aquaculture
Anaesthesia eliminates the behavioral stress responses associated with handling procedures
Recovery from anaesthesia takes 5-15 minutes depending on species and dose
Regular anaesthesia use requires careful dose management to prevent overdose
Some routine procedures including vaccination are now performed under anaesthesia at commercial scale

Welfare Considerations

Fish anaesthesia for handling and procedures represents a significant welfare improvement that is technically achievable and commercially feasible. Farms using anaesthesia for vaccination and treatment demonstrate that better practice is achievable at commercial scale.

What You Can Do

Support certification schemes requiring anaesthesia for stressful fish handling procedures
Advocate for fish anaesthesia guidelines to be included in aquaculture welfare regulations
Choose certified salmon from producers demonstrating humane handling with anaesthesia