Unnatural densities and aggregations commonly found in farming conditions can increase the risk of infections, aggressive social encounters, and food competition for farmed aquatic animals.
Determining the appropriate density is not an easy task. Fish requirements are complex and highly dependent on the species and life-stage, as well as on farm characteristics and farming systems.
💡 Therefore, this issue should be addressed with an integrative approach, considering welfare indicators at the individual, group, and environmental levels, but also the maintenance conditions, procedures, and specific training used on farms, always taking into account the particular species and its life stage.
> Source: Finding the “golden stocking density”: A balance between fish welfare and farmers' perspectives (2022). Frontiers in Veterinary Science
(posted on 2025/01/14)
➜FishEthoGroup is a team of motivated professionals focused on improving fish welfare based on their behaviours.
We develop scientific and applied actions to reach our goals by promoting research, helping to disseminate knowledge, giving consultancy, and training about fish welfare.
Want to know more about us? See information below.
We are a non-profit association bridging the gaps between science and the stakeholders in the aquaculture sector: producers, certifiers, retailers, NGOs, policy makers and consumers. Our goal is to study and improve the welfare of farmed fishes and other aquatic animals by applying ethological scientific knowledge into best practices in fish farming.
Throughout the years, our team has been involved in many areas of the aquaculture sector, from scientific research to campaigning, from auditing to policy. We use that expertise to promote the welfare of fishes through many initiatives with our partners and collaborators.
We develop science-based solutions to assess and improve the welfare of captive and wild-caught fishes. In our approach, we apply a strong background in aquaculture and ethology to address the welfare of fishes. We use state-of-the-art knowledge on the behaviour of a species to understand how its welfare is affected under farming conditions and what we can do to promote it.
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If you are interested in scientific and technical expertise applied to welfare in fish farming, please contact us.
We develop custom-made welfare solutions for your initiatives, as consultancy in farms or other facilities, tailored courses, guidance, certification requirements or systems, specific research studies and welfare protocols (see What we do).
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