Atlantic salmon

Feed used in salmon aquaculture is traceable and requirements are in place for responsible ingredient sourcing, including the use of certified ingredients. However, salmon is a net consumer of fish protein.The production of Norwegian salmon relies on a variety of different feeds, including specialist formulation. Historically, the most important ingredients in salmon feed have been fishmeal and fish oil, which provide an almost optimal complete feed in a convenient and highly digestible product form. The primary fisheries supplying fishmeal and fish oil are found globally (Ireland, Denmark, Iceland, South Africa, Norway, Peru, USA) and have a range of species (anchoveta, blue whiting, capelin, menhaden, Norway pout, sand eel, sprat). Due to a need to reduce costs and secure the protein supply, cheaper alternative ingredients (for example soybean and rapeseed oil) have been progressively substituted in commercial feed formulas. In Norway, novel feed ingredients are also being used, such as insect meals and algal oils.Four main feed manufacturers are dominant in Scotland, these are Biomar, Ewos, Skretting and MOWI. These main feed companies have policies in place to ensure that the protein and oil component of all main feeds used in Norway is traceable and responsibly sourced and this can be independently verified (MarinTrust). The dependency of wild caught fish used in fish meal and fish oil (known as the Feed Fish Dependency Ratio) for this species currently indicates that more fish protein is required in the diet than these fish produce, making them a net consumer of fish rather than a fish producer. The majority of soy and/or palm oil used by the main feed companies is also responsibly sourced.

Salmon farming in marine open net pens has a negative impact on the environment.Habitat alteration is small scale through the use of mooring grids only and does not impact ecosystem functionality. All juveniles used in salmon aquaculture in Norway come from hatcheries, however, wild caught cleaner fish are used. Both lumpfish and wrasse are used as cleaner fish and while the stock status of lumpfish is thought to be above the long term average, the stock status of wrasse is unknown.Salmon farms in Norway rely on chemical usage. Many different chemicals are used with varying impacts on the environment. The use of antibiotics in Norway has been had a 99% reduction since the late eighties due to effective vaccines in the early stages of the salmon s lifecycle. However, there is little information available on the regulation of sea lice treatment and the susceptibility of sea lice to adapt and become resistant to different methods suggest that the use of these chemicals has been poorly regulated in the past. Discharges of waste from salmon farms also have a measurable negative effect but this is within regulation boundaries and state requirements on waste management are rigorous.There is a problem with both parasites and pathogens in salmon. Regulations relating to sea lice have been significantly tightened in Norway in recent years and currently, sea lice levels are low. Farmers must report the numbers of lice on a weekly basis and the results are publicly available. However, the impact of sea lice on wild populations is evident. Surveillance programmes have shown that levels of sea lice on wild salmonids are greater in areas with a high abundance of open net pens. The overall consequences of increased sea lice levels on wild populations are unclear and quantifying wild salmon mortality due to sea lice infections is complex, and the magnitude of lice can also depend on environmental, biological and ecological variables. Pathogenic disease outbreaks also occur on salmon farms in Norway, in particular Pancreas Disease (PD) and Infectious Salmon Anaemia (ISA). It has been found that these pathogens can impact wild species and may result in mortality but this is not thought to be at a population level and not thought to threaten regional level operations.There is a risk of escapes of farmed salmon with evidence of negative ecological effects. Open net pens used in salmon farming are vulnerable to escapes and large numbers have escaped in the last 10 years. Escaped farmed salmon can alter the natural environment by indirectly affecting aspects of the wild population behaviour, predators and disease interaction. In Norway, salmon predators are lethally controlled. Norway employs a regionally administered licensing system for seal shooting, however, seal populations in Norway are relatively low and highly dispersed and a greater impact on their population comes from the ongoing seal hunting practices

There are practices in place to ensure animal welfare and humane slaughter.In Norway, farmed fish are subject to the Animal Welfare Act 2009 and have the same rights as other domestic animals to an environment which ensures that farmed salmon are protected from danger of unnecessary stress and strains. Slaughter of salmon in Norway is now highly automated, however there is legal training required for all personnel involved, to increase focus on animal welfare.

This assessment scores well for management measures but would benefit from third party certification.This assessment is for Atlantic salmon that are not producing to independently on site audited 3rd party certification standards. In Norway, management of marine areas is broken down into three areas: the Barents Sea, the Norwegian Sea, and the North Sea, that combined cover the entire Norwegian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Marine spatial plans have been developed for these three regions and these include the impact of aquaculture on the marine ecosystem. They also identify valuable and vulnerable areas that require special management measures.In Norway, there is regulatory framework in place that addresses Environmental Impact Assessment, which is required for farms over 36,000m3. There is also protection in place for valuable habitats and species and the use of land and water. Chemical use is permitted and permits must also be obtained in order to discharge into a receiving water body. Further regulations in place are the management of disease under the Food Safety Act (2003) and protection from species introduction through the Aquaculture Act (2005). However, regulations are not always effective. For example, open net pens used in salmon farming are experiencing large escape events and despite management action, the numbers are not decreasing. There is also little information available on the regulation of sea lice treatment and the susceptibility of sea lice to adapt and become resistant to different treatment methods suggests that their use has been poorly regulated.