Atlantic cod farming is a growing industry. Understanding the welfare challenges — including aggression, disease, and slaughter — guides more humane production practices.
Farmed cod welfare faces challenges specific to the species: cod are predatory fish that naturally maintain territories and distances from conspecifics, making high-density farming conditions incompatible with natural behavior and a source of stress and injury. Fin damage from aggression is a welfare indicator that is also an economic cost, creating alignment between welfare and productivity in this domain. Disease management, particularly for pancreas disease, requires careful monitoring and rapid response to prevent population-level suffering. The slaughter welfare standards applicable to cod — effective pre-slaughter stunning — are achievable and increasingly implemented in progressive operations.