Aquaculture Welfare

Farmed Salmon Environmental Welfare Advanced

Advanced environmental welfare monitoring for salmon goes beyond basic water quality to include acoustic disturbance, biofouling management, net cleaning welfare impacts, and climate-driven challenges.

Key Facts

Net cleaning operations using high-pressure washing cause significant disturbance to cage salmon
Acoustic deterrent devices to manage seal predation cause stress in salmon at effective frequencies
Biofouling management chemicals have direct welfare impacts on salmon and broader ecosystem effects
Harmful algal blooms are increasing in frequency and severity with ocean warming
Net integrity monitoring prevents catastrophic escapes that expose salmon to predation

Welfare Considerations

Advanced environmental welfare assessment considers the full range of management operations that cause welfare impacts, not just routine water quality parameters. Net cleaning disturbance, acoustic deterrents, and chemical treatments all cause acute welfare events that should be minimised in frequency and severity. Developing less disruptive alternatives to these necessary management operations is an important area for welfare innovation.

What You Can Do

Support research into welfare-friendly alternatives to disruptive farm management operations
Advocate for welfare impact assessment requirements for all farm management procedures
Choose salmon from operations committed to minimising management-related welfare impacts