Sturgeon are among the longest-lived fish, with some species reaching over 100 years. Their welfare in aquaculture — primarily for caviar production — raises unique questions for long-lived animals.
Sturgeon welfare presents unique challenges because of their longevity and the economics of caviar production. Females held for breeding may live for a decade or more in aquaculture facilities before producing eggs, creating a very long-term welfare obligation. Water quality, space, and social conditions over these extended periods determine cumulative welfare outcomes. Traditional caviar harvesting requires killing females — a practice that prevents repeat production and incentivizes the no-kill surgical extraction method ("no-kill caviar"), which is both more sustainable and potentially better for individual welfare if performed skillfully. Sturgeon in intensive RAS systems face the same crowding and behavioral restriction issues as other farmed fish, compounded by their need for specific substrate preferences and potential temperature requirements for gonadal development.