Crowding
Salmon are often stocked at 20–34 kg/m³, creating constant stress and aggression.
Aquaculture & Fish Farming Welfare
~600 billion farmed fish are produced each year. Aquaculture now exceeds wild catch and is the fastest-growing food sector.
- Scale: Hundreds of billions of farmed fish annually.
- Shift: Farmed production has surpassed wild capture.
- Growth: Aquaculture is expanding faster than any other food system.
SCALE
Aquaculture’s footprint is massive and still growing.
106 billion fish per year
Estimated fish slaughtered annually in aquaculture (FAO 2021).
Top farmed species
Salmon, carp, tilapia, and shrimp dominate global production.
Welfare blind spot
Regulation and oversight lag far behind the sector’s scale.
WELFARE CONDITIONS
Common practices in fish farming create chronic stress and injury.
Sea lice infestations
Parasitic outbreaks cause open wounds, pain, and higher mortality.
Hypoxia
Low-oxygen events are common in dense pens and lead to suffocation.
Handling stress
Netting, grading, and crowding during harvest cause acute stress and injury.
Live transport
Fish are shipped live for long distances with high mortality risk.
Stunning gaps
Most farmed fish are not effectively stunned before slaughter.
SENTIENCE SCIENCE
Fish in farms have the same biology and capacity for suffering as wild fish.
Pain biology
Fish have nociceptors and opioid systems associated with pain perception.
Behavioral evidence
They avoid noxious stimuli, show prolonged distress, and change behavior after injury.
Standards emerging
RSPCA and Compassion in World Farming now publish welfare standards for farmed fish.
Same sentience
Captive fish have the same sentience and cognitive capacities as wild fish.
PROGRESS
Policy and advocacy are starting to move — but need scaling.
Scotland’s Aquaculture Bill (2023)
Introduced reforms to improve welfare oversight and transparency.
Norwegian welfare regulations
Strengthening requirements for stocking density, health monitoring, and mortality reporting.
Aquatic Life Institute
Global leader building welfare standards, policy, and industry change.
Compassion in World Farming
Active aquaculture campaigns pushing for stronger welfare standards.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Personal choices and collective pressure can reduce suffering for billions.
Reduce farmed salmon and shrimp
These are among the most intensively farmed species with significant welfare concerns.
Look for better labels
Seek RSPCA Assured or Global Salmon Initiative labels when you do buy fish.
Support Aquatic Life Institute
They work globally to improve standards, policy, and industry practices.
See Giving GuideAdvocate for stunning requirements
Mandating humane slaughter could reduce severe suffering at scale.