Where aquaculture facilities are located profoundly affects both fish welfare and ecological impact. Evidence-based siting decisions improve outcomes for farmed fish and surrounding ecosystems.
Aquaculture farm siting decisions affect fish welfare through their influence on the ambient conditions in which fish live across their productive life. Sites with chronic thermal stress, oxygen limitation, or heavy sea lice pressure create ongoing welfare challenges that cannot be fully addressed through management alone. Regulatory siting frameworks that consider welfare alongside environmental impact are emerging as important tools for improving both dimensions of aquaculture sustainability. The development of land-based recirculating systems that allow precise control of all environmental parameters represents a potential solution to many site-related welfare problems, though at higher capital and energy cost. Progressive aquaculture companies are investing in site quality and closed-containment technologies as part of welfare and sustainability strategies.