Cool season welfare management for tilapia farming in subtropical and temperate zones requires specific strategies to prevent temperature-related welfare harm.
Tilapia welfare during cool seasons is a recurring challenge in subtropical production regions where winter water temperatures can drop to welfare-impairing or lethal levels. Chronic suboptimal temperatures cause immune suppression and disease susceptibility before reaching acute stress thresholds. Rapid temperature drops cause more severe welfare harm than gradual cooling. Welfare-focused cool season management includes harvesting before temperatures become critical, emergency heating for RAS systems, and insulation management for outdoor ponds. Climate change is extending the season of safe tilapia production in some regions while creating new challenges at the range margins.