Atlantic cod aquaculture is developing as wild stocks remain depleted. As this industry grows, establishing good welfare standards from the outset is critical to avoiding the welfare problems seen in established fish farming sectors.
Establishing welfare standards for cod aquaculture before the industry scales up is an important opportunity to avoid the mistakes made in salmon farming where welfare problems became entrenched before solutions were developed. Cod are sensitive fish with specific behavioral and environmental needs that cage farming may not fully meet. Building welfare monitoring, disease prevention, and humane slaughter requirements into industry standards from the outset is significantly more effective than retrofitting them later. The lessons from salmon welfare development should inform cod aquaculture from its earliest stages.