Atlantic cod aquaculture faces significant welfare challenges from the species complex schooling behavior, light sensitivity, and stress responses in intensive production environments.
Cod aquaculture welfare presents challenges specific to a species that evolved for cold, open-ocean schooling behavior being farmed in relatively warm, confined tank environments. Their complex social behavior — schooling, hierarchical feeding, and spatial preference — creates welfare management challenges in uniform tank systems. Continuous artificial light used to accelerate growth manipulates circadian rhythms whose welfare implications have been inadequately studied. Handling procedures during routine management including grading and vaccination cause substantial cortisol stress responses. The economic fragility of cod aquaculture means welfare investment is often foregone in favor of cost control, creating a race to minimum welfare rather than competitive pressure toward improvement. Pre-slaughter welfare through adoption of electrical or percussion stunning represents an achievable welfare improvement that is progressively being adopted as standard practice.