Carp and other freshwater fish are among the most widely farmed species globally, particularly in Asia, with welfare conditions that receive far less attention than marine aquaculture.
Freshwater carp welfare represents perhaps the largest gap in aquaculture welfare science and regulation. More carp are farmed than any other fish group, primarily in countries with minimal welfare oversight. Carp are sentient fish that show pain responses and stress behaviors, yet they are routinely transported live, held in poor conditions, and killed without stunning. The scale of carp production means that welfare improvements here would benefit more individual animals than improvements in any other single aquaculture sector. This is an urgent but severely underresourced area of welfare advocacy.