Atlantic cod aquaculture is expanding as wild stocks remain depleted, presenting both conservation opportunities and welfare challenges for this commercially important species.
Cod aquaculture sits at the intersection of conservation benefit and welfare challenge. Farming cod that would otherwise be captured from depleted wild stocks could reduce pressure on recovering populations, but only if farmed production does not come at the cost of significant animal suffering. The welfare evidence suggests that current commercial stocking densities and housing conditions cause stress through restriction of the natural schooling and ranging behavior that cod evolved for. Welfare-positive cod aquaculture requires species-appropriate space, controlled density, disease prevention, and humane slaughter — the same standards required for all farmed fish, applied specifically to cod biology.