Sustainable seafood certification schemes focus primarily on stock conservation and environmental impact. Understanding what they do and do not cover for animal welfare helps consumers and advocates engage with seafood choices.
Sustainable seafood certification provides important information about environmental sustainability but should not be conflated with animal welfare assurance. An MSC-certified fishery can use trawl methods that cause significant welfare harm to both target and non-target species. ASC aquaculture certification includes more welfare provisions than MSC wild fishery certification, but coverage is still partial. Consumers motivated by animal welfare rather than just sustainability need to look beyond generic sustainable seafood labels to certification standards with specific welfare provisions. The gap between environmental and welfare certification is beginning to be addressed by emerging schemes, but welfare-specific seafood guidance remains limited.