Anaesthesia is used in aquaculture for handling, vaccination, and sampling, and its correct use is an important welfare intervention — minimising handling stress and pain during procedures.
Anaesthesia in aquaculture is an underutilised welfare tool. Many routine procedures — health checks, sampling, vaccination, and transport preparation — are performed on fully conscious fish experiencing the physiological stress of restraint and handling. Where anaesthesia is used, correct application — appropriate concentration, adequate induction time, recovery in oxygenated water — makes a significant difference to welfare outcomes. The growing evidence that fish experience pain and stress comparably to other vertebrates makes the case for expanding anaesthesia use for procedures currently performed without it. The cost of anaesthetics is modest relative to the welfare benefit of reducing acute suffering during routine husbandry.