Animal category: Fish

Summary of the EU 2023 aquaculture survey

CIWF

Published in 2023

Summary of a report on investigations carried out at four trout farms in Poland to document typical farming practices on trout farms. After providing an overview of trout farming in the EU, it identifies welfare and health hazards, poor handling techniques, and inefficient and painful slaughter systems. It recommends that regulations should be introduced for the rearing, transport and slaughter of each species of farmed fish, and that research should be encouraged to improve welfare in these species.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Fish

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Consciousness, Pain, Societal issues, Welfare indicators, Human-animal relationships, Transport

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Phytotherapy use for disease control in aquaculture: a review of the last 5 years

Joey Joe Yee Ng, Nor Asma Husna Yusoff, Nurul Ashikin Elias, Nor Azri-Shah Norhan, Noor Aniza Harun, Farizan Abdullah, Ahmad Najmi Ishak, Marina Hassan

Published in 2023

Scientific review on the use of phytotherapy rather than treatment with antibiotics n aquaculture for reasons of sustainablility. It looks at the mechanisms of action of phytogenic compounds, the efficacy of different dosages and ways of administering compounds, and their toxicity for several aquatic species.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Fish

Keywords:Antibiotic resistance, One Welfare

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Qualitative Behavioural Assessment as a welfare indicator for farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in response to a stressful challenge

Timothy Robert Wiese, Sonia Rey Planellas, Monica Betancor, Marie Haskell, Susan Jarvis, Andrew Davie, Francoise Wemelsfelder, James F. Turnbull

Published in 2023

Scientific article on the value of qualitative behavioral assessment to evaluate the welfare of farmed salmon. It aims to assess the effectiveness of QBA in measuring changes in the emotional behavior of salmon following a stressful event.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Fish

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Welfare indicators, Stress

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Update to the 2014 FAWC Opinion on the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing

Animal Welfare Committee

Published in 2023

Expert opinion providing recommendations for improvements to   the welfare of farmed fish at the time of slaughter. It highlights the fish sentience, recommends effective stunning methods, and proposes rules to reduce stress and suffering before slaughter. It recommends a legal requirement for inspection , the use of video surveillance on slaughter sites, tighter controls and sanctions, and better management of voluntary code standards.

Document Types: Opinions

Animal categories: Fish

Keywords:Consciousness, Pain, Societal issues, Human-animal relationships, Stress

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Aquaculture Certification Schemes Benchmark: Aquatic Animal Welfare - Edition 2

Aquatic Life Institute

Published in 2023

Second edition of a reference tool for welfare-based certification of aquaculture facilities. It analyzes current welfare requirements as part of the basic farming standards of seven international seafood certification programs.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories: Fish

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Consciousness, Enrichment, Housing, Living environment, Pain, Welfare indicators, Stress

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The Role of Preventative Medicine Programs in Animal Welfare and Wellbeing in Zoological Institutions

Paolo Martelli, Karthiyani Krishnasamy

Published in 2023

Scientific review highlighting the fact that the usual animal welfare paradigms do not apply to animals in zoos, particularly when the animals are undergoing veterinary treatment. In such circumstances, the animals' physiology and behavior are deregulated, and freedom of choice and comfort are limited. The authors propose that a distinction should be made between the state of well-being experienced by the animal (well-being) and the societal management of animal welfare (welfare), and to base the wefare management of zoo and aquarium animals on preventive medicine.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories:Wildlife, Fish

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Animal-based measurements, Societal issues, Welfare indicators, Living environment, Human-animal relationships

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Animal Welfare of Farmed Fish

European Parliament Fisheries Committee

Published in 2023

Study on the welfare of the main fish species farmed in the European Union. It includes the state of knowledge of fish welfare and identifies gaps, the needs of fish, and farming methods that cause problems in fish welfare.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Fish

Keywords:Enrichment, Housing, Living environment, Livestock farming system, Stress, Welfare indicators

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Environmental enrichment improves cognitive flexibility in rainbow trout in a visual discrimination task: first insights

Valentin Brunet, Thomas Lafond, Aude Kleiber, Léa Lansade, Ludovic Calandreau, Violaine Colson

Published in 2023

Scientific article studying the impact of environmental enrichment on the cognitive abilities of rainbow trout as a model aquaculture species. Using an operant conditioning device, after an acquisition phase in which the fish learned to discriminate between two colors, they all successfully completed four inversion learning tasks, demonstrating the cognitive flexibility of rainbow trout. They all passed the generalization task. Fish raised in an enriched environment performed better in the acquisition phase and in inversion learning.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Fish

Keywords: Learning, training, Enrichment, Memory, Cognitive processes

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Assemblée nationale : réponse écrite à la question n°2205 : Mesures de lutte contre la souffrance des animaux aquatiques

Question: Vincent Ledoux (Renaissance - Nord). Answer: Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty

Published in 2023

Answer to a question on the government's intentions regarding the implementation of measures to combat the suffering of aquatic animals and the funding of a research program to reduce animal suffering in commercial fishing.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories:Molluscs, Fish

Keywords:Pain, Societal issues, Human-animal relationships

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Stunning and Slaughter: good practices for Animal Welfare in Aquaculture

Aquatic Life Institute

Published in 2023

Fact sheet describing commercially-available "welfare-friendly" stunning and slaughtering equipment for some of the most common farmed species in aquaculture, explaining how the equipment works, emphasizing the importance of proper calibration, and of its context of use. 

Document Types: Good practice guide

Animal categories: Fish

Keywords:Consciousness, Pain, Societal issues, Stress

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