Compassion in World Farming launches first sea bass and sea bream welfare scorecard
Compassion in World Farming (CWF) 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, which was launched on 10 February, 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.
Assessed companies span six countries and account for around 36% of global sea bass and sea bream production.
The new benchmark builds on the momentum created by CWF’s Salmon Welfare Scorecard, first published in 2023, which has already encouraged greater transparency and industry-wide engagement, says the organisation. 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 CWF explains why both scorecards have been launched.
He said: “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.
CWF plans to 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 organisation says 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.
CWF will publish the next Salmon Welfare Scorecard in late 2026, followed by the next Sea Bass and Sea Bream Welfare Scorecard in late 2027.
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