Research into pain relief for fish is advancing, with implications for both aquaculture and laboratory use, though few licensed analgesic drugs for fish are currently available.
Fish analgesia research is one of the most urgent gaps in applied animal welfare science. We know fish have the neurobiological capacity for pain responses, yet we have no licensed analgesic drugs specifically designed for fish use, and the practical tools for pain assessment in fish are in early development. This means that fish undergoing painful procedures in aquaculture - fin clipping, surgery, disease treatment - often receive no pain relief, not necessarily because welfare is ignored but because the tools simply do not exist. The research pipeline is promising: zebrafish pain models are advancing our understanding of fish pain neurobiology, and the 3Rs principle is driving demand for fish analgesia options in research settings. Translating this to aquaculture welfare practice requires investment and regulatory support.