Discover more about our research into the impacts of salmon farming
and horticultural greenhouses on social and environmental systems.
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Systematic literature review
Neal Haddaway, Hazel Cooley, María D López Rodríguez
This project synthesises existing systematic reviews on salmon aquaculture to assess what is known, how reliable that knowledge is, and where major gaps remain. Using Collaboration for Environmental Evidence and ROSES standards, we identified 37 reviews from 327 records. Most focused narrowly on production issues such as fish health and feed, with little attention to environmental or social impacts. None met high methodological standards, and most were judged low quality due to weak protocols, poor transparency, and inadequate synthesis methods. Industry involvement was common. Overall, the evidence base is fragmented and methodologically weak, underscoring the urgent need for more rigorous, transparent, and independent reviews of salmon farming impacts.
Systematic literature review
Neal Haddaway, Helen Sampson, Ingrid Kelling, Marija Sciberras, Hazel Cooley, Linda Errington, Sini Savilaakso
This systematic map examines evidence on the biodiversity and social impacts of European blue food consumption across global aquaculture supply chains, focusing on salmon, cod, sea bass, and sea bream. Using Collaboration for Environmental Evidence and ROSES standards, over 28,000 records were identified, with a representative subsample screened and coded. The evidence base is heavily skewed towards ecological impacts, particularly in salmon farming, with limited research on social outcomes and mitigation measures. Studies are geographically concentrated in Europe, Chile, and North America, and focus primarily on adult production stages in open-net pens. Overall, the map reveals substantial evidence gaps, methodological fragmentation, and a lack of integrated socio-ecological analysis, limiting policy-relevant understanding of blue food sustainability.
Photoelicitation study
Neal Haddaway,José Luis Vicente Vicente,María D. López-Rodríguez, Abderrahim Nemmaoui
This study protocol outlines a planned qualitative investigation into how migrant agricultural workers in Almería, Spain, relate to food within an intensive greenhouse farming system supplying European markets. It aims to explore how precarious labour conditions, migration status, and globalised supply chains shape everyday food practices and their cultural meanings. Addressing a gap in existing research, the study will use a collaborative photo-elicitation approach, asking participants to document their food practices over 7–10 days and discuss these images in semi-structured interviews. Through qualitative content analysis and co-creation methods, the research seeks to generate participant-led insights into food justice, labour exploitation, and the sustainability of global food systems.
Systematic literature review
Neal Haddaway, Matthew Grainger, Marija Sciberras, Ingrid Kelling, Steven Cooke
Salmon aquaculture has rapidly expanded in countries such as Norway, Chile, Canada, and Scotland, driven by technology and market demand. While it supplies high-value protein, the industry raises major environmental, social, and ethical concerns, including pollution, disease, high mortality, feed chain impacts, and threats to livelihoods. Climate change intensifies these risks, and industry responses to activism highlight transparency issues. This review maps academic research on salmon farming, systematically extracting and coding studies from The Lens database. Interactive visualisations will reveal research distribution and gaps, providing a foundation for critical assessment of ecological, socio-economic, and regulatory impacts in global food systems.
Systematic literature review
Julia Manek, Aaron Zielinski, Neal Haddaway
This systematic map collates and categorizes research on extreme labour conditions in the Spanish agricultural sector. It identifies evidence on exploitative work environments, physical hardship, and limited legal protections. The project maps geographical hotspots, vulnerable migrant populations, and gaps in current oversight. Using a structured, visual database, it provides policymakers, advocates, and researchers with a clear overview of existing knowledge, supporting evidence-based interventions. By highlighting patterns of systemic exploitation and areas lacking research, the map aims to inform human rights reforms and promote safer, fairer labour practices in Spain’s intensive agricultural regions.
Systematic literature review
Neal Haddaway,José Luis Vicente Vicente,María D. López-Rodríguez
This systematic map collates and categorises research on greenhouse horticulture in Almería, Spain, the world’s largest contiguous area of greenhouses, covering over 32,000 hectares. Production here drives European fresh produce supply but depends on high environmental and social inputs, including overexploited aquifers, plastic pollution, pesticide use, and vulnerable migrant labour. Following CEE and ROSES guidelines, the map systematically searches bibliographic databases in English and Spanish, screens studies, and extracts metadata on crop types, outcomes, spatial and temporal scales, and institutional affiliations. Visualisations, including heat maps and a province-wide evidence atlas, will reveal research clusters, gaps, and patterns in productivity, social, and ecological impacts.