Atlantic cod aquaculture development has faced persistent welfare challenges including cannibalism, skeletal deformities, and the difficulty of farming a species adapted to cold, open-water environments.
The welfare challenges of cod farming reflect the fundamental difficulty of domesticating a species whose biology is poorly suited to intensive captive conditions. Unlike salmon, which have been selectively bred for aquaculture over decades, cod display aggression, cannibalism, and stress responses in high-density conditions that have resisted management solutions. The welfare cost of continued development of cod aquaculture must be weighed against alternative means of supplying seafood demand.