Shrimp are farmed at enormous densities in tropical aquaculture. As the most numerous farmed animals, understanding their welfare is increasingly important.
Farmed shrimp welfare operates at a scale almost beyond comprehension - hundreds of billions of individuals whose sentience status is uncertain but whose capacity for stress responses is documented. Even under a very conservative estimate of shrimp sentience, the scale of potential welfare impact demands serious attention. Lower stocking densities, disease prevention through biosecurity, and more welfare-aware certification represent achievable improvements. The challenge is economic: shrimp are already among the cheapest animal proteins, and welfare improvements add costs that markets may not currently reward.