Aquaculture

Farmed Salmon Hatchery Welfare Standards

Welfare standards for Atlantic salmon during the hatchery phase of production.

Key Facts

Hatchery conditions including water temperature and oxygen affect alevin and fry welfare
Handling during vaccination and grading causes acute stress in juvenile salmon
Stocking density in hatchery tanks affects fin damage and competitive welfare problems
Early life stress may have lasting effects on welfare through epigenetic programming
Hatchery welfare standards are less developed than those for grow-out salmon

Welfare Considerations

Hatchery welfare sets the foundation for salmon welfare throughout the production cycle, and early life stress has lasting impacts that justify investment in hatchery welfare standards.

What You Can Do

Support development of welfare standards for salmon hatchery production
Advocate for hatchery welfare inclusion in salmon aquaculture certification
Choose salmon from farms with published hatchery welfare protocols