Recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) for salmon production offer new welfare possibilities but also introduce novel challenges requiring management.
RAS salmon facilities offer genuine welfare advantages through environmental control and disease protection, but are not inherently superior to sea cage systems without careful attention to their specific welfare challenges. Chronic noise from mechanical systems, high densities enabled by oxygen supplementation, and disease risk in contained environments all require active management. Welfare monitoring is as necessary in RAS as in sea cages.