Atlantic cod aquaculture is developing as wild stocks decline. Establishing welfare standards early in this sector can prevent the welfare failures that characterise more established aquaculture industries.
Atlantic cod aquaculture represents an opportunity to apply the welfare lessons learned from salmon farming before poor practices become entrenched. The welfare challenges for cod are partly similar to salmon (stocking density, slaughter methods, disease management) and partly species-specific (cod aggression in juvenile stages, photoperiod manipulation for maturation control). The relative infancy of cod aquaculture means that welfare standards can be built into industry development rather than bolted on retroactively. Researchers, producers, and regulators working on cod aquaculture have both the knowledge and the opportunity to establish a more welfare-conscious sector from the outset. Consumer interest in sustainably produced cod with verified welfare standards can provide the market incentive to do so.