Striped bass and hybrid striped bass are important North American aquaculture species. Welfare challenges include aggression at high densities, handling stress, and slaughter practices in rapidly expanding production systems.
Striped bass welfare in aquaculture shares patterns common to other perciform fish — aggression and fin damage at high densities, handling stress during grading, and inadequate slaughter practices. Dominance hierarchies in striped bass cause size variation within cohorts as subordinates are displaced from feeding by dominant fish — welfare and production efficiency both benefit from frequent size-grading to maintain uniform cohorts. Water quality management is critical, particularly dissolved oxygen and ammonia — striped bass show rapid behavioural and physiological stress responses to deteriorating water quality. Slaughter by ice slurry without prior stunning is standard practice, allowing minutes of consciousness during asphyxiation. Electrical or percussive stunning before ice slurry immersion is feasible and would significantly improve welfare at the most critical life stage. Consumer and regulatory pressure for welfare standards in US freshwater aquaculture species remains limited compared to European regulatory frameworks.