Aquaculture

Farmed Salmon Spinal Deformity Welfare Impact

The welfare implications of spinal deformities in farmed salmon and progress in reducing prevalence.

Key Facts

Spinal deformities including curved spines affect welfare and market quality
Nutritional deficiencies including vitamin C and tryptophan increase deformity risk
Genetic factors influence susceptibility to deformity under production conditions
Deformed fish may face chronic pain and difficulty feeding and swimming
Deformity prevalence varies widely between farms and production systems

Welfare Considerations

Spinal deformities cause chronic suffering through pain and functional impairment, and nutritional and genetic management can significantly reduce prevalence.

What You Can Do

Advocate for deformity monitoring as a mandatory welfare indicator in salmon farms
Support research into nutritional and genetic prevention of salmon deformities
Choose salmon from farms with low deformity rates and published welfare data