Fish welfare certification varies enormously in what it actually covers. Understanding specific scheme requirements helps consumers make genuinely welfare-positive choices.
Fish welfare certification is one of the most confusing areas of ethical consumer choice. The most widely recognised certifications focus primarily on environmental sustainability, meaning a prominently certified product may involve significant fish welfare compromise. Consumers who specifically care about fish welfare need to look beyond environmental labels and identify schemes with explicit, independently audited welfare criteria. RSPCA Assured for farmed salmon is the clearest example in the UK market. Demanding transparency from retailers about specific welfare requirements in their supply chains is more effective than relying on product-level labelling.