Fish welfare certification is evolving rapidly, with new standards emerging that go beyond environmental sustainability to address fish-specific welfare criteria.
Fish welfare certification is undergoing rapid development as scientific evidence for fish sentience strengthens and consumer interest in fish welfare grows. Current mainstream certification primarily addresses environmental sustainability, with welfare as a secondary consideration. Emerging welfare-specific frameworks for salmon, sea bass, and sea bream provide species-specific criteria for stocking density, water quality, disease management, and slaughter humaneness. The challenge is that fish welfare science is still developing, particularly for slaughter welfare and positive welfare indicators, meaning standards must be designed to evolve as the evidence base matures.