Welfare considerations in the intensive farming of gilthead sea bream, one of the Mediterranean's most important aquaculture species.
Sea bream farming at scale creates welfare challenges that are common to intensive fish aquaculture but with species-specific dimensions. The high stocking densities typical of sea cage production cause chronic social stress, injury from aggression, and suppressed immunity. Sea bream exhibit pain and stress responses consistent with sentience, yet farm-level welfare monitoring remains underdeveloped compared to terrestrial livestock. Disease management depends heavily on antibiotic use in some regions, reflecting the immunosuppressive effects of poor welfare conditions. Slaughter practices vary from live chilling — which causes prolonged distress — to more humane electrical or percussive stunning, but the latter is not universally adopted. As the Mediterranean warms, thermal stress is becoming an emerging welfare concern for sea bream.