Tilapia is one of the world's most important farmed fish, providing affordable protein in tropical countries, but intensive production raises welfare concerns around crowding, disease pressure, and handling at harvest.
Intensive tilapia production creates welfare challenges including crowding stress, aggressive interactions among fish, and disease outbreaks including Tilapia Lake Virus which causes mass mortality. The use of hormone treatments to produce all-male populations raises ethical questions about manipulating normal development. Harvest methods including live transport and slaughter without prior stunning cause significant distress. Research on tilapia sentience suggests they experience pain and stress responses comparable to other fish.