A mini guide has been launched to help farmers establish optimal stocking densities in aquaculture in order to ensure good fish welfare.
The new study, published in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science, reveals how complex fish stocking density in aquaculture is. This work shows that it is difficult to set a rule of thumb for an acceptable stocking density range to ensure fish welfare is not compromised. Because this can vary according to fish species, life-stage, farming characteristics and systems.
“For several years, the debate between stocking density and fish welfare has been ongoing, particularly in fish farming,” said lead study author João Saraiva of the University of Algarve in Portugal, who is also president of the FishEthoGroup Association. “There is no doubt that too low or too high stocking densities pose negative impacts on fish welfare and/or production for certain fish species.”…