Environmental enrichment for farmed sea bass is an emerging area of welfare science with potential to reduce chronic stress and improve individual fish welfare.
Sea bass in commercial cage aquaculture experience environments that provide minimal sensory or structural complexity compared to their natural coastal reef habitats. Chronic stress from barren environments is reflected in abnormal behaviour and elevated baseline cortisol. Research into sea bass environmental enrichment demonstrates that even simple structural additions reduce stereotypic behaviour and stress indicators. The practicality of enrichment in commercial sea cages requires creative application of research findings. Welfare science increasingly recognises positive environmental complexity as a welfare objective alongside the absence of suffering.