What current science says about chronic pain in fish and its implications for aquaculture, fishing, and fish welfare policy.
Chronic pain in fish is an increasingly recognized welfare concern with significant implications for aquaculture management and fishing practices. Evidence that fish experience nociceptive responses and alter behavior in ways consistent with pain experience obligates welfare consideration. Untreated wounds, disease lesions, and hook injuries represent sources of ongoing pain that current production and fishing standards rarely address systematically. Pain management research in fish species is an important frontier for improving aquatic animal welfare.