Aquaculture

Welfare of Animals and the Sustainable Seafood Movement

The sustainable seafood movement has achieved significant environmental improvements but has been slow to incorporate animal welfare criteria alongside sustainability metrics.

Key Facts

MSC and ASC certifications focus on environmental sustainability rather than animal welfare
Fish welfare criteria are beginning to appear in some aquaculture certification standards
Consumer certification guides like Seafood Watch do not yet systematically incorporate welfare
The Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative is beginning to discuss welfare integration
Some certification bodies have explicitly refused to add welfare criteria to date

Welfare Considerations

The sustainable seafood movement has the infrastructure and consumer reach to drive welfare improvements in fisheries and aquaculture but has been reluctant to integrate welfare. Advocacy for welfare criteria inclusion in existing sustainability certifications is an achievable and high-impact welfare strategy.

What You Can Do

Advocate for welfare criteria inclusion in MSC and ASC certification standards
Support seafood certification initiatives that explicitly include animal welfare criteria
Ask Seafood Watch and similar guides to incorporate welfare into recommendations
Donate to organizations working to integrate welfare into sustainable seafood frameworks