Developing welfare standards for farmed sturgeon requires addressing the unique challenges of a long-lived ancient fish species whose welfare needs across multi-decade production cycles are poorly understood.
Sturgeon welfare science is at an early stage, with most welfare knowledge transferred from research on other fish species that may not apply well to this ancient and physiologically distinct lineage. The welfare implications of multi-decade confinement for animals adapted to wide-ranging river and estuarine life are significant but poorly characterized. Developing sturgeon-specific welfare indicators and validating them across the full production lifespan represents an important research priority that requires investment from both industry and welfare-focused funders who recognize that aquaculture welfare cannot be adequately addressed through generic fish welfare frameworks.