Eyestalk ablation — removing one or both eyestalks from female shrimp to induce spawning — is routine in commercial shrimp aquaculture despite being a painful, welfare-compromising procedure.
Eyestalk ablation is perhaps the most clearly welfare-compromising routine procedure in commercial aquaculture, involving the deliberate destruction of a sensory organ in animals showing pain responses. The procedure is performed on millions of broodstock shrimp annually without any pain management because the industry has not prioritized welfare consideration in this species. Selective breeding alternatives that achieve spontaneous maturation without ablation exist and are in development, demonstrating that the procedure is not technically necessary — it persists because it is economically convenient rather than because no welfare-positive alternative exists. Consumer and regulatory pressure can accelerate the transition away from ablation.