Cobia is a fast-growing marine fish being developed for open-ocean aquaculture, with welfare considerations around cage design, stocking density, and adaptation to captive conditions.
Cobia welfare in open-ocean aquaculture benefits from better water quality and larger cage volumes compared to coastal net pens, but the species natural high-energy behaviour means that even large cages impose constraints. Crowding during routine husbandry, feeding competition at high stocking densities, and pre-harvest crowding cause acute stress. Developing species-specific welfare guidelines as cobia aquaculture expands would prevent the welfare problems that have characterised the development of other marine fish species in aquaculture.