Aquaculture

Farmed Salmon Welfare Open Data: Transparency and Progress

Open data on salmon welfare indicators enables industry benchmarking and consumer choice that drives welfare improvement.

Key Facts

Norway publishes farm-level mortality rates publicly for all salmon farms
Lice counts are reported to authorities and publicly accessible in Norwegian aquaculture data
Transparency in welfare data enables identification of outlier farms with poor performance
Consumer-facing welfare labels require independently verified farm-level data

Welfare Considerations

Without transparent welfare data, consumers cannot make informed choices and industry cannot learn from performance differences. Open welfare data creates accountability that voluntary improvement cannot achieve. National welfare data publication systems represent a welfare governance innovation applicable across aquaculture species.

What You Can Do

Support organisations advocating for open salmon welfare data publication
Choose salmon from producers and national industries with public welfare reporting
Advocate for mandatory welfare data publication in national aquaculture regulations