Sturgeon are among the most endangered fish globally, threatened by poaching for caviar, dam construction, and habitat loss. Their welfare across wild and aquaculture contexts requires attention.
Wild sturgeon welfare is devastated by poaching — animals caught in nets or on lines for their eggs experience prolonged stress and often die during capture. Dam obstruction prevents spawning migration, causing reproductive frustration across entire populations. Aquaculture caviar production requires repeated egg extraction — a procedure that, in lower welfare operations, involves significant handling stress and in some methods kills the fish. Higher welfare aquaculture uses ultrasound to time extraction and humane procedures. Dam removal is the most transformative welfare intervention for wild sturgeon.