European and Japanese eels are among the most welfare-neglected farmed fish, with production relying on wild-caught juveniles and poorly understood welfare needs.
Eel farming sits at the intersection of conservation and welfare crisis. The industry depends on depleted wild populations for its inputs while providing almost no formal welfare protection to the billions of eels it raises and kills. Eel welfare science is at an early stage, but what exists suggests significant welfare concerns at every production stage from high-density culture stress to inhumane killing methods. The conservation urgency of European eel decline provides additional reason to scrutinize eel consumption and the welfare conditions of those eels that are farmed.