International aquaculture welfare regulation remains fragmented and weak, leaving most farmed fish without legal welfare protection.
The regulatory gap for aquaculture welfare is vast relative to the scale of the industry and the number of animals affected. Hundreds of billions of fish are farmed annually with no legal welfare protection in most of the world. This contrasts sharply with terrestrial farmed animal welfare, which, while still inadequate, enjoys at least some regulatory framework in most high-income countries. Regulatory progress is accelerating in Europe but is absent or rudimentary in Asia, which dominates global production. International harmonisation through OIE standards or WTO frameworks remains a long-term goal. In the interim, voluntary certification and retailer procurement standards are the primary mechanisms driving welfare improvement in globally traded seafood.