The status of academic research on salmon farming: a scoping review protocol

Salmon aquaculture (variously Atlantic and Pacific) has rapidly expanded across Norway, Chile, Canada, and Scotland, amongst others, driven by advancements in technology and market dynamics. However, this growth has spurred debates around environmental and socio-economic sustainability, especially concerning environmental degradation and "food imperialism." The intensive industry, once purported to be essential for global protein supply, is now scrutinised for prioritising luxury markets over food security and for its high ecological and social impacts, including pollution, disease spread, feed supply chain effects, and damaging livelihoods and standards of living. Climate change intensifies these concerns, with rising sea temperatures and extreme weather exacerbating disease and infrastructure risks, for example. Furthermore, the industry's reaction to activism raises issues of transparency and public accountability. With high mortality rates and substantial welfare concerns, the sector faces ethical scrutiny as well. This review aims to map academic research on salmon farming, analysing how studies address themes such as environmental impacts, socio-economic consequences, industrial profitability, and regulatory frameworks. We will search for relevant records from The Lens bibliographic meta-database using a tried-and-tested search strategy. We will then systematically screen records at title and abstract level and full text level according to a set of predefined inclusion criteria. Following this, we will systematically extract and code metadata, including geographical focus, study objectives and design, and funding sources. Visualisation tools, such as heat maps and interactive atlases, will illustrate research distribution and highlight gaps in the literature. The project will provide a comprehensive overview that will inform future systematic reviews and primary research, particularly in underexplored areas. This scoping review thus offers a foundation for a critical assessment of the research literature on salmon farming and its role in global food systems, social and ecological impacts, and the effectiveness of regulatory practices.