Farmed fish welfare certification is nascent and inconsistently implemented, with most existing aquaculture labels focusing on environmental sustainability rather than the welfare of individual fish.
Fish welfare certification is in the position that land animal welfare certification was several decades ago: consumer demand for assurance exists but the certification landscape is fragmented, uneven, and often addresses production process rather than animal outcome. The fundamental challenge is that fish welfare is poorly served by proxy measures (stocking density, water quality) without behavioral and physiological welfare indicators that tell us how individual fish are experiencing their conditions. An ASC-certified salmon farm may meet environmental standards while fish are experiencing high stress, injury, or chronic disease that current certification does not capture. RSPCA Assured certification in the UK represents the most comprehensive current approach to salmon welfare with genuine welfare outcome requirements, but covers only a small fraction of global production. Progress requires both better welfare science and the willingness of certification bodies to incorporate welfare indicators rather than only production process standards.