Atlantic cod aquaculture is expanding as wild stocks recover, but intensive farming conditions create welfare challenges for these cold-water fish adapted to deep-water coastal ecosystems.
Farmed cod face welfare challenges from confinement in conditions far removed from their natural deep-water habitat. Crowding causes stress and increased aggression. Spinal deformities, prevalent in hatchery-raised cod, cause chronic discomfort and impair swimming. Light manipulation disrupts circadian rhythms that regulate important physiological processes. Cod are active foragers in nature - the inability to perform natural hunting behaviors in farm conditions is a welfare constraint. As cod farming expands, welfare standards must be established proactively.