The future of aquaculture welfare certification depends on developing science-based standards for species beyond salmon, monitoring technology, and global supply chain transparency.
Aquaculture welfare certification represents one of the most scalable welfare interventions available for fish and crustaceans given the impossibility of regulatory oversight of global production. Certification that reaches the majority of consumption markets in wealthy countries could drive welfare improvements across production in lower-income countries. The development of scientifically credible, species-specific, outcome-based standards is the central challenge for the certification community.