European sea bass are one of the most farmed fish in the Mediterranean, but intensive aquaculture practices raise significant welfare concerns for these sensitive animals.
Sea bass are active, social predators in the wild, covering large distances and requiring environmental complexity. Intensive cage culture deprives them of these needs while exposing them to chronic crowding stress, parasite loads and traumatic harvest. Evidence for pain and fear processing in sea bass is strong — they possess nociceptors, opioid systems and behavioural responses to aversive stimuli consistent with suffering. Adopting percussive or electrical stunning before slaughter, reducing stocking densities and providing current enrichment would bring sea bass welfare to a higher standard.