Fish welfare certification is advancing but significant gaps remain in coverage, standards, and market uptake - closing these gaps is a priority for aquaculture welfare.
Fish welfare certification represents one of the most significant gaps in the broader animal welfare assurance landscape. Billions of fish are farmed globally with minimal welfare monitoring, certification, or regulatory oversight. Existing certifications like ASC are pioneering but reach a small fraction of global production. Expanding certification coverage, strengthening welfare criteria within existing schemes, and improving market penetration of certified products are all needed. Consumer pressure on retailers and food service companies to source certified fish creates market demand that drives certification development. This is a high-leverage welfare intervention given the scale of fish farming.