Aquaculture Welfare

Farmed Salmon Welfare Indicators Validated

Validated operational welfare indicators (OWIs) for salmon are enabling evidence-based welfare assessment and certification across the industry.

Key Facts

Norwegian aquaculture authority published validated OWIs covering mortality, lice, wounds, and behaviour
OWIs should be measurable, sensitive, and practical for use in operational settings
Wound scoring protocols enable assessment of handling and crowding-related injury
Behavioural indicators including surface-breaking and abnormal swimming signal welfare compromise
Consistency between assessors requires calibration training and inter-rater reliability testing

Welfare Considerations

Validated welfare indicators transform salmon welfare from a subjective aspiration to an objective, measurable, comparable metric. Farms assessed against validated OWIs can demonstrate welfare performance, enabling accountability and market differentiation.

What You Can Do

Support certification schemes that require validated OWI assessment
Advocate for mandatory OWI reporting in salmon farming regulation
Choose salmon from farms with published welfare indicator scores