Despite progress, significant gaps remain between existing aquaculture certification standards and what is needed to genuinely protect farmed fish and crustacean welfare.
Aquaculture welfare certification is at a critical juncture: the scientific understanding of fish sentience and welfare has advanced faster than the certification infrastructure for translating that understanding into market requirements. The ASC and similar sustainability certifications provide valuable environmental protections but were not designed primarily around welfare and have significant welfare gaps. The opportunity is to use the existing certification infrastructure as a foundation for adding meaningful welfare requirements - slaughter methods, stocking density limits, environmental enrichment, and disease management standards - as the welfare science matures. Consumer demand for meaningful welfare labeling creates market pressure that can drive this transition faster than regulatory change alone.