Japanese yellowtail (buri/hamachi) is one of Japan's most important farmed fish, with welfare challenges around cage crowding, parasite management, and the transition from wild-caught fingerlings to hatchery production.
Yellowtail in crowded sea cages swim continuously in circles, unable to express natural schooling and directional movement behaviour. Parasite infestations cause skin erosion, corneal damage, and chronic immune stress. Chemical bath treatments (freshwater baths, hydrogen peroxide) cause acute osmotic and oxidative stress during treatment. Wild fingerling capture involves crowding and transport stress before cage stocking. Slaughter by ike-jime is increasingly adopted in premium Japanese yellowtail production, representing a welfare-positive standard that other countries could emulate.