High-welfare salmon certification programs set measurable standards for stocking density, water quality, sea lice management, and slaughter that go substantially beyond minimum legal requirements.
High-welfare salmon certification represents meaningful progress in farmed fish welfare, establishing measurable standards that go beyond legal minimums and market defaults. Stocking density limits prevent the overcrowding that drives stress, aggression, and disease. Water quality requirements address the chronic respiratory stress from elevated CO2 and low oxygen. Slaughter method requirements eliminate the suffering of unelaborated killing methods. While certified production is still a minority of the market, consumer demand for certified products creates commercial incentive for broader adoption of welfare standards across the industry.