Risk assessment of marking and tracing methods with regards to the welfare of farmed salmonids. Opinion of the Panel on Animal Health and Welfare.

• Main Author: Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food Safety (VKM)
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: vkm; norwegian scientific committee for food safety; norwegian food safety authority; norway; risk assessment; marking methods; surgery; injection; natural marks; animal welfare; salmonid fish; tracing; fish farming; escapes; animal identification; salmon; farmed fish; Norway; Atlantic salmon; Salmo salar
• Online Access: https://zenodo.org/record/4032474; https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4032474

The Norwegian Food Safety Authority (NFSA) asked the Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food Safety (VKM) for an opinion of risks of reduced welfare implications associated with the different marking and tracing methods, and combinations thereof, for farmed salmonid fish, restricted to Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in Norway. A working group was established comprising members from the Panel on Animal Health and Welfare and external experts from the Institute of Marine Research, the Norwegian Institute of Nature Research, and VKM staff. The Panel on Animal Health and Welfare has reviewed and revised the draft prepared by the working group and has approved the opinion. There are environmental concerns of escaped farmed salmon interbreeding with wild fish, potentially threatening genetic integrity, and transmission of diseases. The Norwegian government intends to prevent or reduce escapes of farmed salmonids from occurring, and wishes to have those farmed fish that have escaped removed from the environment. In order to facilitate these actions, it is essential to be able to identify escaped fish. In addition, reliable methods for tracing the origin of the escaped fish are also crucial. Mandatory marking of all farmed fish in Norwegian aquaculture has therefore been suggested. On this basis, this VKM report will be used by the NFSA to evaluate which marking methods are most suitable, from both short- and long-term perspectives, in relation to the Animal Welfare Act. In order to fulfil the requirements, the marking must enable visual identification of escaped fish and also enable an individual fish to be traced back to its origin. There is no single marking system that fulfils both these criteria. A variety of marking and tracing methods are available for mass marking of farmed fish. These methods differ with regard to their suitability for actually distinguishing wild from farmed (escaped) fish in the field. External marks may be lost or fade over time. Morphology will often ...