Aquaculture

Farmed Lumpfish Welfare as Cleaner Fish

Lumpfish are increasingly used as cleaner fish in salmon aquaculture to control sea lice, but face significant welfare challenges in sea cage environments adapted for salmon rather than lumpfish.

Key Facts

Lumpfish attach to surfaces using a sucker disc and need hard substrate in cages
Salmon sea cages provide little structural complexity suited to lumpfish welfare needs
Lumpfish predation by salmon and co-mingling injuries cause significant mortality
Disease including lymphocystis virus affects farmed lumpfish with inadequate veterinary attention
Lumpfish welfare standards are largely absent despite millions being deployed annually

Welfare Considerations

Lumpfish are used at large scale to service salmon welfare, yet their own welfare is substantially neglected. As sentient fish, they deserve welfare standards equivalent to the species they serve.

What You Can Do

Support development of welfare standards specific to cleaner fish in salmon aquaculture
Advocate for regulatory inclusion of lumpfish welfare in salmon farming certification
Raise awareness of the welfare gap between salmon and their cleaner fish
Support research into structural enrichment for lumpfish in sea cage environments