Shrimp is the most valuable traded seafood commodity globally, with welfare concerns spanning stocking density, disease, and slaughter across diverse production contexts.
Shrimp welfare in global aquaculture receives increasing scientific and regulatory attention following recognition of decapod sentience. Evidence supporting pain experience includes nociception, wound guarding, and analgesic-responsive behavior. Intensive production at very high densities causes chronic stress measurable in stress hormone pathways. Disease outbreaks cause mass mortality events that represent significant welfare events. Slaughter methods including live boiling, freezing, or saline stress are common and involve prolonged aversive experience. The Shrimp Welfare Project is developing and implementing welfare standards globally, focusing on stunning before killing, reduced density, and better disease management. Consumer purchasing pressure through certification schemes can drive improvement.