Genetic selection for disease resistance in tilapia offers a path to reducing mortality, suffering, and antibiotic use in tilapia aquaculture simultaneously.
Disease in tilapia causes significant welfare harm — bacterial meningitis in particular is a painful, debilitating condition. Unlike in terrestrial livestock where disease welfare costs are well-characterized, aquaculture disease welfare costs have been poorly quantified. Genetic resistance offers a welfare improvement that scales with adoption across the tilapia industry. Reducing disease incidence through genetics is inherently more welfare-positive than treatment, because it prevents suffering rather than managing it after onset.