Sturgeon are farmed for caviar production in growing numbers worldwide. Their welfare needs are increasingly understood through fish sentience research.
Farmed sturgeon face welfare challenges associated with long captive lifespans in intensive conditions. High stocking densities, poor water quality, and inadequate substrate can cause chronic stress. The length of time sturgeon are held before egg harvest means any welfare deficit is experienced over years or decades. Non-lethal caviar extraction methods improve welfare outcomes but are not universal. Growing evidence of fish sentience and pain perception supports stronger welfare standards in sturgeon aquaculture, including environmental enrichment and species-appropriate conditions.