Atlantic halibut aquaculture is growing but faces specific welfare challenges from the species size, territorial behaviour, and slow growth rate.
Halibut aquaculture welfare is an emerging concern as commercial interest in the species grows. Their territorial and bottom-dwelling nature means that tank design critically affects welfare: insufficient substrate contact and crowding cause chronic stress in a species adapted to wide flat seabed environments. The slow growth rate means any welfare compromise during the production cycle affects animals for significantly longer than fast-growing species. Cannibalism in juvenile phases reflects both territorial behaviour and nutritional stress, indicating welfare deficits in early rearing conditions. As the industry scales, establishing species-specific welfare standards now rather than retrofitting them later is the most welfare-efficient approach.