A growing number of aquaculture certification schemes now include welfare criteria, but coverage, depth, and enforcement vary widely across species and regions.
Certification systems are one of the most scalable tools for improving aquaculture welfare at a global level. When retailers and institutional buyers require certified products, the standards become de facto industry norms. The challenge is ensuring welfare criteria in certifications are scientifically robust, not merely procedural checkboxes. The weakest point is often slaughter: many certified operations still use methods that cause prolonged suffering. Strengthening slaughter welfare requirements - mandating electrical or percussive stunning before killing - would have an outsized positive impact on billions of fish annually. Consumers choosing certified seafood should look for schemes that include meaningful slaughter welfare standards.