Animal welfare in aquatic production has been gaining increasing attention in discussions about the future of aquaculture. In this context, understanding how certification programs incorporate welfare criteria into their standards is essential for producers, companies, retailers, researchers, and other stakeholders across the production chain.

This is precisely the purpose of the Aquaculture Certification Schemes Benchmark, developed by the Aquatic Life Institute (ALI).

In its fifth edition, published in September 2026, the Benchmark evaluated 12 certification programs and 2 rating agencies, representing the largest scope reached by the study to date.

For the second consecutive year, Certified Humane ranked first, achieving a score of 9.5/10.

What is the Aquaculture Certification Schemes Benchmark?

The Aquaculture Certification Schemes Benchmark is a global, evidence-based tool that evaluates how aquaculture certification programs and product rating systems incorporate animal welfare requirements into their standards.

In other words, the study seeks to answer an important question:

To what extent do aquaculture certification programs establish clear criteria to protect the welfare of farmed aquatic animals?

The Benchmark compares the requirements established in different programs’ standards and assigns scores based on the presence and strength of criteria related to animal welfare.

According to ALI, it is the only global evidence-based tool specifically dedicated to assessing the strength and clarity of animal welfare language within aquaculture certification and rating frameworks.

The results can be used as a reference by certification programs, seafood companies, retailers, policymakers, researchers, investors, and animal protection organizations.

What does the Benchmark evaluate?

The assessment considers different aspects related to the living conditions and management of aquatic animals.

Among the main criteria evaluated are:

Water quality

Water quality is fundamental to the welfare of aquatic animals. Therefore, the Benchmark evaluates whether standards establish requirements related to monitoring and maintaining adequate water quality conditions.

Stocking density

The study also analyzes requirements related to the number of animals kept within a given space.

Stocking density can directly influence animals’ living conditions and is associated with factors such as behavior, water quality, and opportunities for interaction with the environment.

Environmental enrichment

Another aspect evaluated is whether standards include requirements that encourage environments more suited to animals’ behavioral needs.

This is one of the areas where the sector still has opportunities for improvement. The 2026 assessment indicates that aspects related to behavior and the ability to express natural behaviors remain less developed compared to operational welfare criteria.

Feed

The Benchmark also evaluates how standards address feed composition and feeding management practices.

Transport and handling

Transport and handling are important stages for animal welfare and are also included in the assessment.

In the 2026 edition, the transport criterion was expanded to also include routine handling practices.

Stunning and slaughter

Requirements related to stunning and slaughter are also considered in the evaluation, assessing whether standards establish procedures aimed at reducing animal suffering.

In addition to these criteria, what else is considered?

The Benchmark also assigns scores to certain prohibitions considered relevant for animal welfare.

These include:

• farming octopuses and other cephalopods;
• eyestalk ablation in shrimp;
• the use of insects as feed for aquatic animals;
• the use of genetically modified organisms to accelerate growth;
• inappropriate use of antimicrobials.

In the 2026 edition, inappropriate antimicrobial use became one of the core prohibitions assessed.

The report also highlights that six evaluated programs now prohibit the farming of octopuses or other cephalopods: Certified Humane, RSPCA, ASC, Soil Association Organic, Friend of the Sea, and Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP).

What does the Benchmark NOT evaluate?

This point is important.

The Aquaculture Certification Schemes Benchmark is an assessment exclusively focused on animal welfare.

Therefore, the score does not represent an overall evaluation of certification programs.

The study does not assess:

• environmental sustainability;
• food safety;
• social responsibility;
• governance performance;
• implementation of standards on farms;
• compliance of certified operations with the standards.

In other words, a high Benchmark score means that a program has clearer and stronger requirements related to animal welfare, but it does not necessarily indicate the best performance across all other dimensions of aquaculture production.

Certified Humane ranks first again

In the 2026 edition, Certified Humane achieved 9.5 points, maintaining the leading position for the second consecutive year.

The result also represents an improvement compared to the previous edition. In 2025, Certified Humane received 8.75 points and also ranked first.

The three highest scores in 2026 were:

1st Certified Humane: 9.5
2nd RSPCA: 8.45
3rd ASC: 7.95

The improvement in Certified Humane’s score followed the incorporation of new animal welfare provisions into its standards, including updates made based on recommendations presented by ALI in the 2025 Benchmark.

Why is this assessment important for aquaculture?

Aquaculture plays an increasingly important role in global food production, with billions of aquatic animals raised in farming systems worldwide.

At the same time, scientific knowledge about the welfare of these animals continues to advance.

In this context, establishing clear welfare criteria within certification standards can help translate scientific knowledge into practical requirements for production systems.

The ALI Benchmark provides an overview of which aspects are already more established within certification standards and which areas still require further development.

According to the 2026 assessment, requirements related to feed, water quality, stocking density, transport and handling, and stunning and slaughter are increasingly present in the evaluated standards. On the other hand, aspects related to behavioral welfare, environmental complexity, and opportunities for expressing natural behaviors remain areas requiring further development.

Recognition for advancing animal welfare

Certified Humane’s first-place ranking in the 2026 Benchmark represents recognition of the presence of animal welfare requirements within its aquaculture certification standards.

The result highlights the importance of establishing objective, evidence-based, and continuously improved criteria to guide the responsible farming of aquatic animals.

For Certified Humane, this recognition reflects a commitment at the core of its work: supporting farming conditions that consider animals’ needs and contributing to concrete advances in animal welfare.

Learn more about the 2026 Benchmark

The Aquaculture Certification Schemes Benchmark 2026, published by the Aquatic Life Institute, presents the complete assessment of the certification programs and rating agencies analyzed in this edition.

Access the full report to learn more about the methodology, evaluation criteria, and results for each program.

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However, animal welfare is not only an ethical responsibility. Providing adequate living conditions for farm animals can also benefit production systems and the future of farming businesses.

Many producers still ask an important question: Is investing in animal welfare financially worthwhile?

Does it make sense to adopt practices that allow animals to express their natural behaviors, such as eating, resting, moving, and interacting with other animals?

The answer is yes.

Animal welfare and production results can go together

Research and farm experiences show that responsible animal care practices can bring benefits to both animals and producers.

When animals are raised with proper management and conditions that meet their physical and behavioral needs, they can present better health and productivity indicators.

At the same time, consumers are paying increasing attention to how animal products are produced. The way animals are raised has become an important factor for people who want more transparency about the origin of their food.

A case study: collective housing for pigs

One example comes from a study carried out at Granja Miunça, which compared two different production systems for pigs.

In one system, piglets were born and raised in collective pens, following animal welfare recommendations. In the other, the conventional system was used, with pregnant sows kept in individual stalls with limited space.

The results showed positive production differences in the collective housing system:

• 3.5% increase in the number of piglets born alive;
• 14% higher piglet weight at weaning.

The study shows that systems designed to better meet animals’ needs can also contribute to improved production outcomes.

Source: World Animal Protection (WAP) and Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MAPA) – “Collective housing of pregnant sows.”

The role of animal welfare in the future of farming

Animal welfare is becoming an increasingly important topic in food production.

For producers, adopting better farming practices means responding to changing expectations from consumers while maintaining productive and competitive operations.

For consumers, transparency about how animals are raised helps build confidence in the products they choose.

Certifications such as Certified Humane® help identify production systems that follow recognized animal welfare standards based on scientific requirements and independent inspections.

Better care, better decisions for the future

Animal welfare should not be seen as separate from business performance.

The Granja Miunça case demonstrates that providing better conditions for animals can also be associated with positive production results.

By adopting responsible practices, producers can contribute to healthier animals, more transparent production systems, and a stronger relationship with consumers.

Providing appropriate conditions for farm animals is an important part of responsible animal production. Nutrition, water, housing, the environment and handling all play a role in how animals are cared for throughout their lives.

As this subject gains greater visibility, animal welfare is becoming part of the discussion about how food is produced and what consumers expect from the industry.

The consumer is paying attention

Food companies can invest in new products and marketing campaigns, but these efforts also need to consider changes in consumer expectations.

Consumers are increasingly concerned about their health and about the origin of the food they buy. They want to know where the product on their table comes from and under what conditions the animals

 were raised before becoming part of the food supply.

This has made animal care an important consideration for the agricultural industry.

Consumers are also willing to pay more for products made with animal welfare in mind. A product carrying an animal welfare certification can be perceived as being of higher quality than one that provides no information about how the animals were raised.

For the industry, this means that good animal care practices are becoming increasingly important to the way products are produced and presented to consumers.

How did animal welfare become part of animal production?

The discussion about animal welfare began in the 1960s. In 1979, the publication of the Five Freedoms by the Farm Animal Welfare Council gave greater importance to animal welfare in discussions about farm animal production.

From that point forward, issues related to animal care became part of the conversation surrounding agricultural production.

Infrastructure, food, water, transportation and animal nutrition are among the aspects that need to be considered when looking at the conditions in which farm animals are raised.

Why do nutrition and environmental conditions matter?

Environmental management and animal nutrition are important elements of animal welfare.

hese practices also play an important role in preventing problems that can cause significant losses to the agricultural industry, such as salmonella outbreaks. The occurrence of the bacteria is associated with factors including inadequate hygiene and cleaning in environments where poultry and pigs are raised, poor management of waste and other residues, contaminated water, and a lack of control over birds, flies and rodents.

Nutrition is another factor that deserves particular attention.

Proper care of the environment and the food provided to animals is therefore an important part of managing production and protecting animal health.

Why does animal welfare certification matter?

Consumers who want to know whether a product has been produced with animal welfare in mind need reliable information. Certification provides a way to identify products that follow defined animal welfare standards.

The Certified Humane® program works to improve the lives of farm animals from birth through slaughter. Since 2003, Certified Humane® has followed the Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC) Standards Manual.

The program’s standards establish specific animal welfare requirements and consider the characteristics of each species.

They are reviewed by a Scientific Committee made up of approximately 40 professionals from around the world. The committee studies the specific characteristics of each species to establish appropriate requirements for their care.

For consumers, the certification provides information about the standards followed in the production of a product. For producers and food companies, it offers a way to demonstrate their commitment to animal care through defined requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions About Animal Welfare

What are the Five Freedoms?

The Five Freedoms are principles that became an important reference in discussions about farm animal welfare following their publication by the Farm Animal Welfare Council in 1979.

When did Certified Humane® begin following the HFAC Standards Manual?

Certified Humane® has followed the Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC) Standards Manual since 2003.

What aspects of production are related to animal welfare?

Infrastructure, food, water, transportation, animal nutrition and environmental management are among the aspects related to animal welfare in farm animal production.

Do the standards consider the specific needs of different species?

Yes. The standards consider the specific characteristics of each species when establishing animal welfare requirements.

Learn more about Certified Humane® animal welfare standards