Knowledge gaps and research needs for the welfare of farmed fish

Abstract

SUMMARYSince 2003, the Animal Health and Animal Welfare Panel (AHAW) of EFSA adopted fifteen generic Scientific Opinions related to the welfare of farmed fish. These Scientific Opinions addressed aspects of husbandry systems, transport and slaughter practices and covered seven species of fish. The AHAW Scientific Opinions showed that very limited information is available in the peer reviewed literature regarding fish welfare, making welfare assessment difficult. The biology of fish, their production systems, the development of welfare indicators, and learning and cognitive ability in different species of fish are major topics for research. Welfare oriented research should address specific issues within the following twelve research areas: welfare indicators, vaccines and other veterinary medicines, epidemiology of endemic diseases, neuro-biology, physiology of stress, stocking density, water quality, genetics, transport, pre-slaughter handling, stunning and killing, and domestication of farmed species. The order of importance for these areas significantly differs depending on the fish species, developmental stages and production systems. Therefore the list is not a strict research priority ranking.

Social effects on AVT and CRF systems

“…Stress, and stress-related behaviour, is a problem in aquaculture as it results in lowered productivity and reduced welfare of farmed fish (The EFSA Journal 2009). The general stress response of teleost fish is well studied (Wendelaar Bonga 1997), and in aquaculture the stress is often related to aggressive behaviour (Bergqvist and Gunnarsson 2011).…”