Advances in welfare science and practice for farmed pangasius, covering improved certification standards, disease management welfare, and emerging transparency requirements in the global pangasius supply chain.
Pangasius welfare improvements have been driven more by food safety and environmental concerns than by direct welfare advocacy, yet the outcomes for fish welfare are partly positive — reduced antibiotic use, improved water quality monitoring, and growing supply chain transparency all create environments that better support fish welfare alongside production sustainability. The remaining welfare gap is the absence of meaningful fish welfare criteria in leading certification schemes — stocking density, behavioral indicators, and humane slaughter are not yet systematically addressed in pangasius certification. Filling this gap requires direct advocacy for welfare criteria inclusion by certification bodies, consumer demand for welfare transparency beyond environmental sustainability, and continued development of pangasius-specific welfare science.