Aquaculture

Aquaculture Cleaner Fish Welfare Standards

Cleaner fish including wrasse and lumpfish used for sea lice control in salmon farming require species-specific welfare standards, as their own welfare is often neglected in salmon-focused management.

Key Facts

Over 70 million cleaner fish are deployed annually in Norwegian salmon farming alone
Wrasse are caught from wild populations creating capture welfare concerns
Lumpfish and wrasse have specific temperature, substrate, and shelter requirements
Mixing cleaner fish with salmon exposes them to salmon-specific diseases and density stress
Cleaner fish welfare standards are being developed in Norway and the UK but remain early stage

Welfare Considerations

Cleaner fish are sentient animals used as living tools for salmon welfare, while their own welfare is largely neglected. Developing and implementing cleaner fish welfare standards is an ethical imperative.

What You Can Do

Support development of welfare standards specific to cleaner fish in salmon farming
Advocate for wild wrasse capture welfare standards and closed-cycle farming alternatives
Raise awareness of cleaner fish as an overlooked welfare category
Support research into cleaner fish welfare requirements in sea cage environments