Aquaculture

Anaesthesia Use in Gilthead Seabream Husbandry

Anaesthesia of gilthead seabream during routine husbandry procedures such as grading, vaccination and sampling reduces acute stress and improves welfare outcomes in Mediterranean aquaculture operations.

Key Facts

Gilthead seabream is the second most important farmed finfish in Mediterranean Europe
Routine husbandry involves frequent crowding, handling and sampling events
Anaesthesia using clove oil derivatives such as AQUI-S reduces cortisol stress responses significantly
Without anaesthesia, acute handling can cause immune suppression lasting several days

Welfare Considerations

The use of anaesthesia during husbandry procedures in seabream reduces acute stress hormones, physical injury and post-handling immune suppression. While anaesthesia adds cost and handling time, research demonstrates net welfare and production benefits from its use. Regulatory frameworks for anaesthetic use in finfish vary significantly across EU member states.

What You Can Do

Support EU-wide standards requiring anaesthesia for invasive husbandry in farmed finfish
Choose seabream products from certified operations with verified welfare standards
Advocate for farm assurance schemes to include anaesthesia requirements in their species standards
Support research into practical on-farm anaesthesia protocols for Mediterranean finfish species