Pangasius is one of the world's most traded farmed fish, produced mainly in Vietnam's Mekong Delta, with welfare concerns alongside environmental sustainability issues.
Pangasius welfare is shaped by the species ability to breathe air and tolerate conditions that would kill most fish, which has led to industry practices exploiting this tolerance through extreme stocking densities. While the species robust physiology means it does not die from conditions that would rapidly kill salmon, extreme crowding causes chronic stress, fin erosion, and increased disease burden that represent genuine welfare concerns. Processing welfare - harvest by draining ponds and live transport to processing plants - is an area where welfare improvements aligned with product quality can drive industry change. The certification systems developed primarily for environmental reasons also create a framework for integrating welfare standards.