Aquaculture

Farmed Atlantic Halibut Deformity Prevention

Spinal and jaw deformities are common in farmed Atlantic halibut, reducing welfare and requiring nutritional and husbandry interventions.

Key Facts

Spinal deformities affect up to 15% of farmed halibut in some studies
Jaw deformities impair feeding and cause chronic welfare compromise
Vitamin C and phosphorus deficiency in early feeding stages cause skeletal deformities
High light intensity during early rearing stages increases deformity rates
Genetic selection against deformity is an active research area

Welfare Considerations

Halibut deformities cause lifelong welfare compromise through impaired swimming, feeding difficulties, and chronic pain. Prevention through optimal hatchery nutrition and appropriate light management is far preferable to managing deformed fish throughout production. Deformity rates are a welfare performance indicator for halibut farms.

What You Can Do

Choose halibut products from certified farms with low deformity rates
Support research into halibut welfare and deformity prevention
Advocate for deformity monitoring as a mandatory aquaculture welfare metric