Aquaculture

Salmon Lice Integrated Management Welfare

Integrated sea lice management in salmon farming combines preventive, biological, and therapeutic approaches to reduce lice burdens while minimising treatment-related welfare impacts.

Key Facts

Sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) are the most significant welfare and economic challenge in marine salmon farming
Biological control using cleaner fish (lumpfish, wrasse) reduces chemical treatment frequency
Laser-based automated lice removal systems offer precision treatment with reduced chemical exposure
Thermal delousing causes acute thermal stress - welfare standards limit temperature and exposure duration
Coordinated area management across neighbouring farms reduces reinfestation rates

Welfare Considerations

Sea lice infestation causes direct welfare harm through skin lesions, secondary infections, and physiological stress. Treatment interventions including chemical baths, thermal delousing, and mechanical removal also carry welfare costs. Integrated management minimises total welfare burden by reducing lice to sub-harmful levels through the least-welfare-impactful methods available. Welfare standards need to account for both the harm of infestation and the harm of treatment.

What You Can Do

Choose salmon certified to integrated lice management welfare standards
Support research into biological lice control that reduces treatment welfare impacts
Learn about the complex welfare tradeoffs in sea lice management
Advocate for aquaculture welfare standards that address both lice burden and treatment welfare