Tag animal welfare

At this year’s GOAL conference in Guangzhou, China, leading animal welfare and aquatic animal disease experts will share knowledge about how producers can gird their operations. EMS, EHP, streptococcosis and sea lice will be addressed, as will the latest in area management. 

Removing the eyestalk of broodstock female shrimp aided in the explosive growth of commercial-scale aquaculture. An undertaking by a Central American shrimp farmer has shown that producing shrimp without ablation can ease animal welfare worries without the feared drop in production. 

Quantification of fish behavior is complex and depends on the experimental setup and biomarkers applied. A simple method was tested to quantify locomotor behavior to evaluate the effects of simulated water treatment scenarios using peracetic acid. 

The aquaculture industry is doing a poor job of educating consumers about farmed fish, according to polling results from the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s annual GOAL conference in Vancouver, Canada. View the results from all 18 audience questions, with photos from the diverse audience. 

David Little, professor at the University of Stirling in Scotland, tells the Advocate about the rapid evolution of the aquaculture industry in Southeast Asia — where he made his home for many years — and discusses the role of academia in ushering in new eras of innovation. 

Research that has shown fish have the necessary brain structure to feel pain has displaced traditional perspectives and led to additional accounting for fish welfare in aquaculture. 

Survey participants also indicated that, in general, Brazil’s fish-farming industry is addressing elements of animal welfare to some degree, but can improve. 

Although concerns for the animal welfare of food animals are currently highest in the United Kingdom and European Union, they are also growing in other parts of the world.