Laksvel - A standardised, operational welfare monitoring protocol for Atlantic salmon held in sea cages

Summary

To measure and record fish welfare in a consistent manner, a detailed protocol is necessary for how measurements and scores should be conducted. This report describes three environmental based (oxygen, temperature, and salinity), three group based (behavior, appetite, and mortality), and fourteen individual based operational welfare indicators for use in salmon grow-out facilities. All indicators are divided into four levels that indicate increasing welfare burden at each level. The protocol includes instructions on how the indicators should be measured or scored, and for the individual-based welfare indicators, there is a guide with a description of each indicator and three example images for each of the three levels indicating deviations (scoring levels 1-3).