Intensive Aquaculture: Welfare Across Species

Intensive aquaculture produces fish, crustaceans, and molluscs in enormous quantities, with welfare challenges that vary significantly between species and production systems.

Key Facts

Global aquaculture production now exceeds wild capture fisheries in tonnage
Atlantic salmon, carp, tilapia, and catfish are the major farmed fish species globally
Intensive systems typically operate at stocking densities far exceeding what fish experience naturally
Water quality, disease, and slaughter methods are the primary welfare concerns across species
Organic and certified aquaculture schemes provide improved standards but cover a small fraction of production

Welfare Considerations

Welfare challenges in intensive aquaculture include crowding stress, inadequate water quality, rapid disease spread, and poor slaughter practices. The welfare impact varies by species: salmon face sea lice and crowding; carp may tolerate higher densities; shrimp face acute mortality from disease events. Investment in welfare standards has been uneven, with salmon receiving far more attention than carp or tilapia despite the latter representing a much larger share of global production. Comprehensive welfare frameworks for all major farmed species are urgently needed.

What You Can Do

Choose aquaculture products certified under recognized welfare schemes
Advocate for species-specific welfare standards for all commercially farmed aquatic animals
Support research into welfare needs and assessment tools for underrepresented farmed species
Reduce consumption of intensively farmed aquatic products from uncertified sources