Aquaculture

Salmon Cleaner Fish Welfare in Lice Management

Cleaner fish such as wrasse and lumpfish are used to control sea lice on salmon but face serious welfare challenges.

Key Facts

Wrasse and lumpfish pick sea lice from salmon, providing a biological lice control method
Wrasse are wild-caught or farmed specifically for use as cleaner fish
Cleaner fish mortality rates in Norwegian salmon farms can exceed 50% annually
Welfare standards for cleaner fish lag significantly behind those for salmon
Crowding, disease, injury and lack of appropriate habitat cause high cleaner fish mortality

Welfare Considerations

Cleaner fish are sentient animals that experience significant suffering in current production and deployment systems. They are frequently regarded as tools rather than welfare subjects in their own right. Improved welfare standards, reduced stocking densities and better housing are urgently needed to address this gap.

What You Can Do

Support Aquaculture Stewardship Council standards development for cleaner fish welfare
Choose salmon products from farms demonstrating cleaner fish welfare monitoring
Follow Fish Welfare Initiative research on cleaner fish welfare improvements
Advocate for inclusion of cleaner fish in aquaculture welfare legislation