Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) aquaculture, while less commercially dominant than salmon farming, has been developed in Norway and other countries as both a food production system and a potential tool for supporting wild cod stock recovery. Cod farming presents specific welfare challenges related to their biology and behaviour.
Atlantic cod are active, wide-ranging predatory fish in the wild. They demonstrate sophisticated foraging behaviour, learning ability, and responses to environmental conditions consistent with a sentient nervous system. Research documents pain responses in cod comparable to those in other fish species widely accepted as sentient. The welfare of farmed cod therefore warrants the same consideration as other farmed salmonids.
As with other finfish, electrical stunning followed by rapid killing is the welfare-preferred slaughter method. CO2 narcosis and live chilling are aversive and should be replaced by more humane alternatives. Validated stunning parameters for cod are less well established than for salmonids.