As salmon aquaculture grows globally, welfare certification schemes are emerging to set minimum standards for stocking density, disease management, and humane slaughter practices.
Welfare certification for farmed salmon remains significantly less developed than equivalent schemes for land animals. Most existing certifications focus primarily on environmental sustainability, with welfare often treated as secondary. The most meaningful welfare improvements - reducing crowding, mandating effective stunning before slaughter, controlling sea lice without chemical overuse, and minimizing handling stress - require certification bodies to set science-based thresholds. Consumer purchasing power has proven effective in driving improvement when retailers link procurement standards to welfare criteria. The emergence of fish-specific welfare science is gradually translating into more meaningful certification requirements.