Aquaculture systems are increasingly promoted as sustainable—but most strategies ignore the welfare of farmed animals. Aquatic animal welfare is the key missing pillar of sustainable aquaculture. From feed reformulation to certification standards, Aquatic Life Institute is helping reshape the system to improve resilience, reduce suffering, and future-proof global seafood. A closer look reveals how redefining species choice, feed practices, and certification may be the way forward.
Head of Research
Aquatic Life Institute
As the global demand for seafood rises, aquaculture is increasingly promoted as a “sustainable” solution. However, most sustainability strategies have focused narrowly on inputs, emissions, and productivity, overlooking the welfare and quality of life of the animals being farmed.
This oversight results in severe consequences not only for aquatic animals, but for food system resilience, product quality, feed efficiency, and long-term industry trust. Improving animal welfare should not be viewed as an ethical afterthought, but as a systems-level challenge and opportunity. Improvements can ultimately strengthen public health outcomes, align with global climate goals, and foster more adaptive, transparent supply chains.
FROM RECOGNITION TO REFORM: ALI’S SYSTEMS APPROACH
Our strategy isn’t about fixing one link in the seafood chain. It’s about shifting the entire system. We work within the industry to recognize the importance of positive animal welfare, embed protections through enforceable standards, and prioritize welfare in decisions around feed, species selection, and investment.
We do this by:
● Publishing science-based recommendations through peer-reviewed research and benchmark tools;
● Advising certifiers and seafood ratings agencies on how to meaningfully strengthen welfare criteria;
● Engaging with impactful, multi stakeholder platforms;
● And assisting governments and retailers to redefine what sustainability means in the global seafood system.
This multifaceted approach enables ALI to operate as a “gateway to change”, supporting both immediate progress and long-term structural reform.
FEED INNOVATION WITH WELFARE AT THE CENTER
Feed is often framed as an environmental concern, but it’s also an animal welfare issue. The sourcing, digestibility, and palatability of feed can directly influence aquatic animals’ health, behavior, and stress levels in captivity. Hunger, poor gut health, or aggressive competition can result in chronic suffering. Novel feed ingredients, such as algae, offer promising alternatives to traditional marine ingredients. But trials must evaluate more than growth and cost. They should assess welfare outcomes like behavioral diversity, gut integrity, and satiety. In a recent Fishes1 article, we argue for this expanded approach to feed evaluation as a pathway to systems-level improvement.
One concrete success comes from the F3 (Fish-Free Feed) Challenge, which aimed to accelerate the adoption of non-FMFO aquafeeds. By the end of its third round, competitors had collectively spared over one billion forage fish from being reduced into feed. This result is not just a win for the environment, it represents a massive reduction in suffering for wild-caught fish, which are typically unassessed and unprotected in current animal welfare frameworks.
REDESIGNING THE SYSTEM: FROM CARNIVORES TO CROP-FED FISH
The more sustainable and humane aquaculture systems may be those that raise herbivorous or omnivorous species on well-balanced, largely plant-based diets. Shifting industry focus from prestige carnivores like salmon and tuna toward more resilient, efficient species like tilapia, pangasius, and bivalves could drastically reduce pressure on wild fish populations while improving welfare outcomes. These species thrive on lower-protein diets, are less aggressive, and have husbandry needs more easily met in closed systems.
As outlined in Frontiers in Animal Science2, scaling “artisanal” approaches, those that emphasize lower trophic species, better local feed use, and context-sensitive welfare, provide an important pathway forward.
FROM VOLUNTARY STANDARDS TO INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE
In 2024, we helped co-develop a pioneering crustacean welfare policy with Hilton Foods, one of the largest protein suppliers in Europe. The policy, which bans eyestalk ablation, mandates pre-slaughter stunning, and introduces enrichment expectations, was recognized across industry media and credited in Hilton’s sustainability report as setting a “benchmark for the industry.”
We also work with certification bodies, such as the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), to embed animal welfare into updated farm standards. Through our annual Aquatic Animal Welfare Benchmark, we track and compare how certifiers perform on key issues like water quality, stocking density, environmental enrichment, feed composition, and stunning/slaughter. This transparency enables buyers, retailers, and investors to make informed decisions and gives producers a roadmap for improvement. By influencing certification language and requirements, we’re changing the criteria in which sustainability is judged, ensuring that animal welfare is an essential, rather than optional, dimension of certified sustainable seafood production.
CONCLUSION: A SYSTEM WORTH CHANGING
Improving welfare reduces suffering for billions of sentient animals, builds resilience against disease and disruption, and aligns aquaculture with broader Sustainable Development Goals. Systemic reform not only requires advocating for better practices, but we must also build the tools, relationships, and standards that make those practices possible. Through influencing feed procurement guidelines, certification standards, or global policy platforms, we’re working to reshape how the world thinks about seafood sustainability and the animals themselves.
The transition to welfare-inclusive aquaculture is already underway, but to scale, it requires aligned action across certifiers, feed manufacturers, producers, retailers, and policymakers. ALI supports this shift by producing peer-reviewed research, advising standard revisions, and helping companies turn values into measurable practices.
References
1Gonzalez, T. J. (2025). Harmonizing Animal Health and Welfare in Modern Aquaculture: Innovative Practices for a Sustainable Seafood Industry. Fishes, 10(4), 156. https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes10040156
2Gonzalez TJ (2023) ‘Positive’ animal welfare in aquaculture as a cardinal principle for sustainable development. Front. Anim. Sci. 4:1206035. doi: 10.3389/fanim.2023.1206035
About Tessa Gonzalez
Leading the research department at Aquatic Life Institute, Tessa Gonzalez works at the intersection of science, policy, and institutions to embed aquatic animal welfare in global food system reform. With a background in marine biology and environmental law, her work spans certification improvements, welfare innovations, and systems-level impact evaluation. Her recent publications in Fishes and Frontiers in Animal Science explore how animal welfare can strengthen sustainability, resilience, and ethical standards across aquaculture.
