Aquaculture certification schemes vary enormously in their welfare requirements — understanding what different labels mean helps consumers make genuinely better choices.
The aquaculture certification landscape is complex and often misleading for consumers trying to make informed welfare choices. Labels like organic, sustainable, and responsible aquaculture carry variable welfare content depending on the certifying body, species, and geography. The ASC — the most widely recognized global aquaculture certification — was developed primarily to address environmental sustainability rather than animal welfare, and its welfare criteria have historically been limited. The Good Fish Foundation and similar organizations independently assess certification schemes for both environmental and welfare performance, providing more nuanced guidance than certification labels alone. Consumers genuinely seeking welfare improvement in aquaculture purchases need to look beyond individual labels to the specific standards behind them.