Aquaculture

Farmed Salmon Welfare Benchmarking

Welfare benchmarking in salmon aquaculture provides farms with comparative data to identify and address welfare deficiencies.

Key Facts

The Norwegian Salmon Welfare Assessment Model scores welfare across multiple domains
Benchmarking allows farms to compare their welfare performance against sector averages
Key indicators include gill health, lice burden, wound prevalence, and behavioral metrics
Annual welfare reporting is now mandated in Norway and Scotland
Consumer-facing welfare scores are being developed to translate farm data to market choices

Welfare Considerations

Benchmarking creates transparency that drives improvement across the sector. Farms that score poorly relative to peers face reputational and market pressure to improve welfare outcomes.

What You Can Do

Support certification schemes that require and publish welfare benchmark data
Advocate for mandatory welfare reporting in salmon farming regulation
Choose salmon from farms with published and independently verified welfare scores