Atlantic bluefin tuna face welfare challenges from industrial purse seine capture, live transport to ranching cages, and the stress of confinement in intensive aquaculture operations.
Bluefin tuna are highly active, warm-blooded fish that suffer significantly when confined. Purse seine capture causes extreme crowding and exhaustion. Transfer to ranching cages confines fast-swimming fish in comparatively small spaces. Starvation periods before capture for market quality add further welfare costs. Slaughter methods in ranching operations are often inadequate for fish of this size. As evidence for fish sentience grows, the welfare impacts of tuna industry practices deserve urgent attention.