Aquaculture Welfare

Salmon Biological Control for Lice

Biological sea lice control using wrasse and lumpfish cleaner fish offers welfare advantages over chemical and mechanical treatments but requires attention to cleaner fish welfare.

Key Facts

Ballan wrasse and goldsinny wrasse actively remove sea lice from salmon in cages
Lumpfish use adhesive pelvic discs to stabilise while picking lice from salmon
Cleaner fish survival rates are often poor with welfare problems including fin erosion
Wild-caught wrasse raise sustainability and welfare concerns about capture methods
Hatchery-reared cleaner fish provide more welfare-controlled supply than wild-caught

Welfare Considerations

Biological lice control reduces the need for stressful chemical and mechanical treatments for salmon while providing lice removal. However, cleaner fish are sentient animals with their own welfare needs that must be appropriately managed rather than treating them as disposable tools.

What You Can Do

Advocate for welfare standards for cleaner fish species used in salmon farming
Support research into wrasse and lumpfish welfare in sea cage environments
Choose salmon from certified producers with documented cleaner fish welfare management