The beluga sturgeon - one of the world's largest freshwater fish - is critically endangered, with both wild capture and aquaculture raising serious welfare and conservation concerns.
The beluga sturgeon sits at the intersection of conservation and welfare concern. Wild populations are in crisis, making aquaculture the only sustainable future for the species and the caviar trade. But aquaculture itself raises welfare issues for a long-lived, large-bodied fish kept for decades. 'No-kill' egg stripping is a welfare improvement but requires repeated handling of individual fish over many years. The development of welfare standards for long-term sturgeon aquaculture - including water quality, space, handling minimisation, and humane slaughter - is urgently needed.