Aquaculture and Fish Welfare

Farmed Salmon Welfare and Vaccination Advances

Vaccination of farmed salmon against bacterial and viral diseases has transformed welfare outcomes by dramatically reducing antibiotic use and disease-related suffering.

Key Facts

Multivalent vaccines protecting against furunculosis, vibriosis and ISA are widely used
Norway reduced antibiotic use in salmon farming by over 99% through vaccination programmes
Intraperitoneal injection of vaccines causes acute pain and inflammation at injection sites
Adjuvant-related peritoneal adhesions are a significant welfare concern in vaccinated fish
Research is advancing toward oral and spray vaccine delivery to reduce handling stress

Welfare Considerations

Vaccination has achieved extraordinary improvements in salmon welfare by preventing disease at population scale. Ongoing research to reduce injection-site welfare costs represents the next frontier.

What You Can Do

Support aquaculture certification that recognises vaccination as a welfare positive
Advocate for research into less invasive salmon vaccine delivery methods
Choose salmon from operations with documented vaccination and low antibiotic use