Welfare of decapod crustaceans is an area of growing interest in the context of animal ethics, production, and research. The prevailing literature suggests decapod crustaceans are sentient and demonstrate a “pain-like” experience, with research spread across a diverse range of crabs, lobsters, and freshwater shrimp. These studies consistently highlight the lack of knowledge on pain, nociception, sentience and stress in decapod crustaceans, and the paucity of novel methods that quantify stress or assess welfare of decapod crustaceans. These knowledge gaps make it difficult to provide science-based recommendations regarding the welfare of crustaceans, however, there is growing sentiment to treat decapod crustaceans with care, provide optimal handling and minimise their stress and suffering. The increased scrutiny and concern for welfare in crustaceans provides an opportunity to develop objective measures of welfare to validate, improve practices in a range of settings ensuring recommendations rising from the research are objective and based in science.
This presentation will discuss the crustacean behaviour and welfare, highlight knowledge gaps and future research opportunities to improve welfare of farmed crustaceans.