Atlantic cod farming has struggled commercially due to the species welfare requirements around schooling behavior, handling sensitivity, and specific environmental needs.
Farmed cod welfare illustrates how the natural behavioral ecology of a species can make commercial farming particularly challenging from both economic and welfare perspectives. Cod evolved for open-water schooling behavior and are highly sensitive to the crowding conditions that make commercial aquaculture economically viable. Their stress responses at density are measurable and significant, contributing to the commercial difficulties the industry has experienced. In a sense, cod welfare requirements — more space, lower density, appropriate water quality — align with the conditions that would also improve production outcomes, making welfare and commercial interests more convergent than opposed.