Aquaculture

Salmon Sea Lice - Integrated Pest Management

Sea lice cause significant welfare impacts on farmed salmon and require integrated management strategies to reduce reliance on chemical treatments.

Key Facts

Sea lice cause skin damage, osmoregulation problems and secondary infections
Chemical treatments including emamectin can cause neurological side effects in salmon
Cleaner fish such as lumpfish and wrasse eat sea lice but have their own welfare needs
Snorkel barriers and deep feeding lights reduce lice attachment in sea cages
Coordinated fallowing of farm sites reduces lice pressure across regions

Welfare Considerations

Sea lice management is central to salmon welfare and requires balancing chemical, biological and physical control methods. Each approach has distinct welfare trade-offs.

What You Can Do

Choose salmon certified under schemes requiring integrated lice management
Support research into non-chemical lice control including laser systems
Ask retailers about their suppliers' sea lice management approaches