The welfare comparison between single-sex and mixed-sex tilapia production informs decisions about production system design and animal welfare outcomes.
The welfare comparison between single-sex and mixed-sex tilapia production shows consistent advantages for all-male systems in terms of reduced aggression and absence of reproductive competition. Mixed populations experience chronic welfare costs from territorial disputes and reproductive behaviour that all-male production eliminates. The welfare cost of sex determination procedures, while real, is likely lower than the chronic welfare costs of mixed-sex intensive production over the production cycle. Welfare-conscious tilapia production should adopt all-male production while investigating the most welfare-positive sex determination method available.