Fish Health and Welfare

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Subtopics Healthy Animal gives a Better Food Farm Conditions - avoiding stressors is a key prevention strategy Humane Slaughter - preserving animal welfare and avoiding suffering Health Treatments - increasingly based on enhancement of the animal immune response

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Healthy Animal gives a Better Food

It is of primary interest for aquaculturists to maintain the animals in the best possible condition. This will protect the welfare and health of the animals, but also it will ensure quality and safety for consumers. Thus, when animals are in good condition, eating the adequate food and not subjected to stressors or infectious agents, the energy provided by the feed will be transformed into flesh and not derived to other uses. For instance, animals subjected to stress develop responses to produce rapidly available energy, which leads to the build up of acids such as lactic acid or produces an osmotic imbalance. These responses will deteriorate the flesh and give lower quality product and less tasty food. Moreover, affected fish may be able to give free entrance to parasites or bacteria. On the contrary, a healthy animal with an adequate assessment will provide a mark of quality and high standard for aquacultured products.

Fish and shellfish welfare in aquaculture is of growing interest. It is mainly due to a generalized awareness of both producers and consumers that fish well-being is directly related to a safe product for human consumption. In most systems, not only in the aquaculture industry, improved health and well-being usually implies better animal performance. Careful planning and proper management will allow fish to be cultured to meet production and profit goals while maintaining aquatic animal health and well-being. Generally, there is no conflict between the welfare of the fish and quality. Good welfare and good quality go hand in hand. Adequate water supply of suitable water quality is essential. Outdoor tanks and sea cages should have adequate means for protection of the fish from predators.

A stressful environment on a fish farm has the overall effect of reducing fish performance. Reduced performance can lead to decreased survival rates, poor feed conversion rates, poor reproduction and poor feeding and growth. Sub-optimal conditions are not advantageous, nor desirable to the aquaculturists. In order to avoid stressful episodes, an understanding of the environmental requirement of the fish species is required.

Fish is good for your health, the n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids found in fatty (pelagic) fish species are very important, they have beneficial effects in the prevention of coronary disease. Low fat content of many other fish species (white flesh, demersal), is also of benefit to human health.

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