40 MARCH 2023 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG welfare by society is increasing, affecting the consumer market and aquaculture regulations. If aquatic animals like fish and shrimp are capable of suffering, then their welfare must be protected, within the same rationale employed for other vertebrate animals. To improve animal welfare, it is necessary to ensure that the animal’s experience is as positive as possible. Although society has recognized the importance of animal welfare in the commercial production of terrestrial food animals, there is still a glaring lack of recognition in relation to fish welfare. However, it is not possible to ask a fish directly how it is doing, so animal welfare is directly related to the satisfaction of its biological, behavioral and emotional needs. The Five Domains Model is a science-based structure for assessing animal welfare, which recognizes that animals can Introduction Aquaculture, especially in the Global South, is at a similar stage of development as the pig and poultry sectors were 30 to 40 years ago. The sector’s drive is to develop production systems that remove the animal from its environment and possible disease challenges, rather than meeting the animal’s health and welfare needs. The welfare of an organism is inextricably linked to the absence of suffering and the creation of conditions that are positive for it. This applies to all sentient animals, like fish, which can consciously perceive what is happening to them and what surrounds them through their senses. Sentience includes sensory experiences (visual, auditory, tactile and olfactory) as well as in relation to feelings of warmth or cold, fatigue, hunger, thirst, boredom, excitement, fear, pain, pleasure and joy. With scientific evidence of fish sentience, concern about animal A Fish Welfare-Based Approach Towards Better Aquaculture Practices Murilo H. Quintiliano, Sara Barrento, Ana Silvia Pedrazzani and Amy Wilson Nutrition — Paulo Thara, Brazilian tilapia farmer storing bags of feed. One of the six nutrition indictors we score is the feed amount. Health — Checking the eye condition during the health assessment. This is one of the nine tilapia health indicators we score. Environment — Multi-parameter water sensor showing oxygen saturation and water temperature. Temperature and oxygen are two environmental indicators. Behavior — Fish swimming near the surface, some jumping during feeding. One of the three behavioral indicators we score is the swimming behavior. FIGURE 1. The four key areas for tilapia welfare assessment. FIGURE 2. The nine health indicators. The welfare of an organism is inextricably linked to the absence of suffering and the creation of conditions that are positive for it. This applies to all sentient animals, like fish, which can consciously perceive what is happening to them and what surrounds them through their senses. Sentience includes sensory experiences (visual, auditory, tactile and olfactory) as well as in relation to feelings of warmth or cold, fatigue, hunger, thirst, boredom, excitement, fear, pain, pleasure and joy.
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