Compassion in World Farming has launched its first Sea Bass and Sea Bream Welfare Scorecard, providing an assessment of the public welfare policies and reporting of 13 major producers. The scorecard evaluates producers against 11 key welfare criteria, establishing a much-needed baseline for a sector where public commitments on fish welfare have historically been limited, or optional, but are now increasingly expected and required.
Together the assessed companies span six countries and account for around 36% of global sea bass and sea bream production.
This new benchmark builds on the momentum created by Compassion’s Salmon Welfare Scorecard, first published in 2023, which has already encouraged greater transparency and industry-wide engagement. The aim is to give stakeholders confidence that producers are investing in meaningful welfare improvements and are willing to be held publicly accountable.
Dr Daniel Sanchez, Senior Research Manager, Fish Welfare at Compassion explains why both scorecards have been launched: “More than half of the seafood consumed today is farmed, making aquaculture the fastest growing food sector worldwide. With this rapid expansion comes a responsibility to implement and uphold policies and practices that ensure good welfare. We work with the food industry to identify welfare issues and encourage producers to adopt higher welfare practices and more sustainable solutions.”
Both the Salmon and the Sea Bass and Sea Bream Welfare Scorecards are designed to increase transparency across the supply chain. They encourage producers to publicly report on fish welfare, support meaningful engagement, reward strong policies, practices and reporting, and ultimately drive continuous welfare improvement across the industry.
The scorecards evaluate fish welfare by benchmarking the public policies and reporting of leading producers against 11 key welfare criteria for sea bass and sea bream, and 13 for salmon, including stocking density, genetics and humane slaughter. Each parameter is scored independently and presented on a five-tier scale, providing a clear visual benchmark of welfare standards that can be tracked over time to monitor industry progress.
The 2025 Sea Bass and Sea Bream Welfare Scorecard assesses 13 key producers: Abalioglu, Avramar, Cooke, Cromaris, Galaxidi, Gloria Maris, Gruppo del Pesce, Gumusdoga, Kefalonia, Kili?, Philosofish, Sursan, and Waterhouse.
Key findings and recommendations include:
- Stocking Density: Only four producers achieved a tier above 1. Of these, three companies—Abalioglu, Avramar and Kefalonia—reached Tier 4, having set a maximum stocking density of 15kg/m3, Compassion’s recommended limit for sea bass and sea bream welfare. However, most producers do not disclose the actual densities reached during production, making it impossible to verify whether commitments are being met.
- Humane Slaughter: This is the strongest-performing parameter, with most producers reaching Tier 3 or above. Only one producer—Sursan—achieved Tier 5. The results indicate that Humane Slaughter is a highly topical issue, marked by a mix of commitments and varying levels of implementation, while industry debate continues over which methods are best suited to replace ice slurry.
- Genetics: Reporting is weakest in this area. Only one producer—Kefalonia—scores above Tier 1, and even then, only reaching Tier 2. This lack of transparency around genetic techniques and which traits different breeding programmes select raises concerns about the development of breeds whose welfare impacts have not been adequately tested.
Compassion will provide tailored feedback reports to producers, offering clear recommendations to help them strengthen their welfare policies and improve practices over time.
Beyond raising awareness and improving transparency, the scorecards also drive investment in higher-welfare practices. By providing a clear and authoritative framework for reporting and recognising responsible policies, they enable producers to make measurable improvements in farmed fish welfare. They also support retailers in selecting partners whose practices align with their own welfare credentials.
Compassion will publish the next Salmon Welfare Scorecard in late 2026, followed by the next Sea Bass and Sea Bream Welfare Scorecard in late 2027. This timeline gives producers the opportunity to respond to the findings and implement new policies, ensuring tools continue to evolve, remaining both relevant and ambitious in driving fish welfare standards forward.
To learn more about the Sea Bass and Sea Bream Welfare Scorecard and how to improve your fish welfare policy, please contact Compassion’s Food Business Team, and explore their fish welfare resources.
