Beneath the Surface: The Animal Welfare Crisis in the Fish Farming Industry

Summary

The fish farming industry is the biggest animal welfare crisis in Norway's history. If you count the number of animals, farmed salmon accounts for a whopping 92.5 percent of all Norwegian production animals. Norway alone accounts for over half of the world's total production of farmed salmon and therefore has a special responsibility for the welfare of the world's salmon.

In 2023, about 200 million salmon died before slaughter. That makes up more individuals than there are among all other species in Norwegian food production. Behind the numbers lies a lot of pain, disease and poor living conditions. Common causes of death include winter ulcers, heart failure, and gill disorders. The way we treat fish today is in sharp contrast to Norway's long tradition of animal protection and broad political consensus that animal welfare is important.

The state of the aquaculture industry is well known. The authorities have received criticism from the National Audit Office for lack of action and poor follow-up of animal welfare in the aquaculture industry. Both business and policymakers recognize the need for improvement. A new survey shows that 37% of Norwegians have become more negative about farmed salmon due to ethical and environmental considerations.

Yet too little is being done. The industry is working to strengthen animal welfare, but the challenges remain significant. Politicians have not taken sufficient action to get a grip on an industry that is responsible for our biggest ever animal welfare crisis. We urgently need to improve regulations and strengthen enforcement of it.

To improve the conditions for animals in Norway, we propose five measures:

1. Ban cleansing fish and scalding as a treatment for salmon lice. Both the use of cleansing fish and thermal desalination inflict enormous suffering on the fish. It's unsustainable and needs to stop right away.
2. Authorities must halt production if the death rate is too high. If mortality rates among farmed salmon exceed “sustainable levels” authorities should be able to demand that production be scaled down until the problem is dealt with. One solution is to expand the existing traffic light system for sustainable aquaculture to include farmed salmon.
3. Introduce taxes on suffering in agriculture and aquaculture. We should twist the tax system in the direction of punishing breeders with poor animal welfare and rewarding those who treat their fish well.
4. The supervisory authority should be strengthened. The Food Authority plays a crucial role in enforcing regulations but does not have sufficient resources to carry out its mission. Food inspection should therefore be strengthened and the level of fines for violations of the Animal Welfare Act must be significantly increased. It will ensure that the farming industry has a proper financial incentive to ensure animal welfare.
5. Smolt production should be regulated more strictly. To ensure good salmon welfare for life, we need to have less intensive smolt production. 

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Download and read the full report here: (NB: The PDF is in Norwegian.)