Aquaculture Welfare

Farmed Cod Welfare: Emerging Aquaculture Species

Welfare considerations for Atlantic cod as a potential future aquaculture species.

Key Facts

Atlantic cod farming trials have explored group housing, feeding behaviour, and crowding stress responses
Cod show strong social hierarchies that can lead to dominance-based feed exclusion and growth variation
Parasite challenges including sea lice require management, though cod are less susceptible than salmon
Welfare standards for farmed cod are in early development, creating an opportunity to build welfare in from the start

Welfare Considerations

Atlantic cod aquaculture is at an early stage where welfare standards can be established before the industry scales. This represents a rare opportunity to design welfare-positive production systems from inception rather than attempting to retrofit welfare into established systems.

What You Can Do

Support research into cod welfare indicators and behavioural needs in aquaculture settings
Advocate for mandatory welfare standards before commercial cod aquaculture is licensed
Choose aquaculture products from species and systems with established, audited welfare standards