Salmon's suffering is Norway's darkest secret
... and the government does nothing. Here are four steps that can help with Norway's biggest animal welfare disaster.
Ki-generated illustration from Midjourney
Main moments
The government is profiling their animal welfare report to the Storting on the fact that they will ban snakes and other reptiles. A symbol case, if anything. At the same time, the aquaculture industry is facing the biggest animal welfare crisis in Norwegian history, without the government showing anything close to the same force of action as it does towards reptiles.
The extent of the salmon's suffering is Norway's darkest secret. Yearly 200 million salmon die as a result of diseases and suffering, and the number is increasing. That's more than the stock of all other animals in Norwegian food production combined. If, like me, you struggle to grasp the seriousness of this, imagine that a similar amount of cows should have died as a result of disease and suffering.
Over 800 million farmed salmon live in Norwegian waters at all times. If we include trout and cod, farmed fish make up over 98 percent of all production animals! It is therefore not an exaggeration to say that the welfare of fish decides whether there is good animal welfare in Norway.
One of the reasons we allow this great suffering may be that we have not updated our understanding of the ability of fish to suffer. But research in the last twenty years show clear signs that the salmon suffer. Salmon have pain receptors, respond instinctively to scalding and other noxious stimuli and tolerate more of such if given painkillers.
It starts already in the hatchery plant, where high temperatures, intense lighting and high density lead to weakened immune systems, poor water quality and accumulation of waste products.
In the sea, salmon lice are one of the most important challenges for the welfare of salmon. The parasite feeds off the mucous layer and leads to open, painful wounds that often cause infections. The cure is just as bad. Thermal delousing in hot water often causes burns, tissue damage, and high mortality in the weeks following the procedure. During this period, the fish lives with severe pain, open wounds and dehydration.
Both the industry, consumers and the authorities have been aware of the problem for a long time, but politicians are afraid of killing Norway's second-largest export industry. The National Audit Office has on several occasions criticised the authorities and the Norwegian Food Safety Authority for not doing enough for animal welfare, in aquaculture in particular.
However, one can see little hope that the industry will do more to improve animal welfare. Dead and wounded salmon is bad shop. But with 200 million salmon dying each year, it's obvious lawmakers can't wait for the industry to take action. The pressure to produce as much salmon as possible at the lowest possible cost leaves no room for the necessary aspirations for fish welfare.
As I and Albert Didriksen elaborate on in a recent report, simple actions can do a lot to solve the problem without at the same time breaking the farming industry.
A simple and necessary step is to strengthen the supervisory authority. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority plays a crucial role in monitoring and ensuring that animal welfare is safeguarded. Nevertheless, they face significant resource and capacity challenges. Increased funding could allow the audit to identify and address animal welfare issues before they escalate.
We also need tougher sanctions. In a particularly gross violation of the Animal Welfare Act, Lerøy this year received a fee of just over half a million kronor. If the fines are to expire, they must be multiplied and proportionate to their severity. It will give them a corporate economic reason to prioritise animal welfare.
The tax system can also be used. One possibility is to turn the resource rent tax and other taxes imposed on the industry over to punishing actors with poor animal welfare and rewarding those who bring mortality rates down.
Authorities also need to downscale production where welfare is too low. It is already part of the traffic light system, which determines whether the breeders can continue as they lead. But here it is only the woe and well of the wild salmon that counts. This needs to change. If the mortality rate among farmed salmon is too high, operations must be scaled down until the problem is under control. In the traffic light system, the welfare of farmed salmon must also count.
In some areas, there are prohibitions that need to be imposed. A major problem for the industry and salmon is salmon lice. Thermal delousing is often used to kill the lice. But thermal delousing is the closest you'll get to a torture chamber for fish.
The delousing causes intense pain and stress reactions. The salmon exhibit panic behavior and lose consciousness as a reaction to the hot water. Physical injuries such as wounds, fin abrasions and eye injuries are common, making the fish more susceptible to infections and diseases. Repeated treatments lead to stress and chronic health problems. In the interests of animal welfare, thermal delousing must be prohibited.
Norway is currently failing in its international responsibility to ensure good animal welfare in the marine industry. Putting an end to the suffering of salmon must be Norway's most important animal welfare priority.
Norwegian politicians have shown the power of action in other contexts. It was a big political issue when Norwegian politicians in 2019 shut down fur farming in the interests of animal welfare. At the same time, these same politicians are allowing millions of salmon to be scalded alive in an effort to remove the salmon louse.
It is time for politicians to introduce measures that stand in the style of the values enshrined in the Animal Welfare Act.
