Atlantic cod aquaculture is an emerging industry aiming to relieve pressure on wild stocks. Welfare challenges in cod farming include aggressive behavior, stress-related disease, and slaughter method concerns.
Atlantic cod farming presents welfare challenges rooted in the biology of a wild predatory fish. Cod are ambush predators with strong competitive behaviors — in captive conditions, size variation leads to dominant fish monopolizing food and attacking smaller conspecifics. Managing stocking density and size homogeneity requires frequent handling and sorting operations that each cause acute stress. Stress responses in cod are particularly prolonged compared to other farmed species, meaning the cumulative welfare burden of routine husbandry is high. Disease management adds further welfare complications, as bacterial and parasitic infections are common in high-density systems and treatment often involves bath treatments that cause additional handling stress. The welfare case for cod aquaculture depends critically on whether it actually reduces fishing pressure on wild stocks, or simply adds production alongside continued wild capture.