Broodstock — the breeding populations held to produce eggs and sperm for aquaculture — are subject to repeated handling, hormonal manipulation, and stripping procedures that raise significant welfare concerns largely overlooked in aquaculture welfare discussion.
Broodstock welfare represents the often-invisible foundation of aquaculture production. The welfare of breeding populations determines the welfare conditions of all farmed individuals derived from them — genetic selection, disease status, and stress experience during gamete collection all affect offspring health and welfare. Yet broodstock welfare receives little attention in aquaculture welfare discussions that focus primarily on grow-out conditions. Repeated anaesthesia and handling, hormonal manipulation, and the physical procedure of manual stripping cause acute welfare harms whose cumulative effect on chronic welfare status in long-lived broodstock fish is poorly studied. The principle that welfare applies across the entire production chain — including breeding populations — should extend welfare assessment requirements to broodstock management.