Atlantic cod aquaculture faces welfare challenges including aggression, parasite susceptibility, and the difficulty of meeting the spatial needs of a wide-ranging species.
Farmed cod welfare presents unique challenges. Their aggressive social behaviour results in size hierarchies where subordinate fish are chronically stressed and underfed. Injuries from fin biting are common in high-density systems. The lack of welfare research specific to cod means management protocols are often adapted from salmon science without robust cod-specific validation.