Aquaculture

Salmon Genetic Selection and Welfare Traits

Selective breeding programmes for farmed salmon increasingly incorporate welfare-relevant traits alongside productivity, improving disease resistance and stress coping.

Key Facts

Norwegian breeding programmes have reduced sea lice susceptibility through genetics
Cataract prevalence in farmed salmon has been reduced 80% through selective breeding
Stress coping style (proactive vs reactive) has a heritable genetic component
Genetic selection for disease resistance reduces morbidity and antibiotic use
Spinal and jaw deformity rates have declined through nutrition and breeding improvements

Welfare Considerations

Genetic selection in salmon aquaculture offers a powerful lever for welfare improvement alongside productivity. Including welfare traits in selection indices benefits billions of fish across the production cycle.

What You Can Do

Support aquaculture producers investing in welfare-trait genetic selection
Advocate for welfare indicator tracking in national salmon breeding programmes
Choose salmon from producers engaged in continuous welfare improvement research