Wild Salmon Disease and Parasite Welfare

Wild salmon populations face welfare burdens from sea lice amplified by fish farms, and freshwater diseases including fungal infections during spawning runs.

Key Facts

Wild salmon migrating past fish farm sites pick up sea lice at rates up to 73 times higher than unexposed fish
Saprolegnia fungal infection during spawning runs causes cotton-like lesions and impairs function
Salmon traveling through warm polluted rivers in spawning runs face compound thermal and disease stress
Sea lice on wild smolts cause mortality rates that contribute to population decline
Infectious haematopoietic necrosis (IHN) and whirling disease affect wild salmonid populations globally

Welfare Considerations

Wild salmon disease welfare is inseparable from the interactions between aquaculture and wild fish, river habitat quality, and climate change. Sea lice amplification by fish farms causes welfare harm to wild salmon populations. The suffering of individual wild salmon from disease, parasites, and thermal stress is real and often preventable through better management of both farms and river habitats.

What You Can Do

Support wild salmon habitat protection and river quality improvement programs
Advocate for mandatory sea lice management at salmon farms that prevents wild fish infestation
Choose farmed salmon from closed-containment RAS systems that eliminate wild fish sea lice exposure
Donate to organizations monitoring wild salmon disease and working on habitat restoration