Shrimp hatcheries produce billions of post-larvae for grow-out farms. Welfare conditions in larval rearing involve challenges related to density, disease, and the unique biology of early life stages.
Shrimp hatchery welfare involves the earliest life stages in what is already a scientifically uncertain welfare context. Very high larval densities create conditions for rapid disease transmission, with major outbreaks causing mass mortality that, if larvae experience any form of suffering, represents significant welfare harm. Biosecurity measures including pathogen-free broodstock, disinfected water, and careful sanitation reduce disease risk. Post-larval quality indicators including survival in stress tests serve as proxy welfare measures. Antibiotic use in hatcheries is common and represents antimicrobial resistance risk alongside any welfare benefits of disease control. Developing welfare-positive hatchery practices for shrimp is an emerging area of aquaculture welfare research.