Improving welfare standards in tilapia aquaculture, one of the world's most popular farmed fish.
Tilapia's status as a globally important food fish and its reputation for hardiness has obscured serious welfare concerns in its production. High stocking densities, poor water quality management, and inadequate slaughter practices combine to create chronic welfare deficits affecting billions of fish annually. The species' tolerance of degraded conditions is not an absence of suffering but rather a physiological adaptation that masks welfare problems. Growing welfare certification schemes for tilapia are beginning to establish meaningful standards that benefit both fish welfare and product quality.