About this Research Topic
Aquaculture production is a growing sector, and the number of farmed fish in captivity is increasing at a rapid rate to meet industry demands for human consumption. This raises concerns among consumers, farmers, certification agencies, governments and NGOs about the conditions under which these animals are kept. Ensuring optimal housing conditions and guaranteeing sufficient welfare standards for fish through every stage of the production process is not only a challenge for society, but a moral responsibility for all those involved in the sector.
In general, animal welfare refers to the feelings and physical well-being of an animal. In the case of fish, the concept of welfare has traditionally focused on tangible physical aspects such as health and nutrition, such as the absence of disease or physical damage, with less (if any) focus on mental well-being. Recently, a growing number of studies highlight the high cognitive abilities in certain fish species, suggesting sophisticated information processing coupled with behavioural responses to environmental change, further to more complex emotions such as fear, anxiety and depression. These aspects are crucial when assessing considering animal welfare, as when animals are free from negative feelings and suffering, and free to exhibit natural behaviours, positive welfare states can be obtained.
The wide diversity of fish used within aquaculture, their unique behaviours and cognitive abilities, and their adaptive strategies for different environments, combined with individual variability, make it extremely complex to standardize concepts of animal welfare for fish. Therefore, it is essential to study fish welfare from a species-specific perspective.
The aim of this Research Topic is to congregate those original research works or reviews addressing the latest advances in fish welfare research, with a special focus on brain function, and the species-specific fish cognitive abilities. We are seeking research on the physiological and behavioural aspects of animal welfare, as well as field studies related to this concept. Manuscripts employing diverse approaches, such as physiological measurements and behavioural observations, are particularly welcome as contributions to this research topic.
In general, animal welfare refers to the feelings and physical well-being of an animal. In the case of fish, the concept of welfare has traditionally focused on tangible physical aspects such as health and nutrition, such as the absence of disease or physical damage, with less (if any) focus on mental well-being. Recently, a growing number of studies highlight the high cognitive abilities in certain fish species, suggesting sophisticated information processing coupled with behavioural responses to environmental change, further to more complex emotions such as fear, anxiety and depression. These aspects are crucial when assessing considering animal welfare, as when animals are free from negative feelings and suffering, and free to exhibit natural behaviours, positive welfare states can be obtained.
The wide diversity of fish used within aquaculture, their unique behaviours and cognitive abilities, and their adaptive strategies for different environments, combined with individual variability, make it extremely complex to standardize concepts of animal welfare for fish. Therefore, it is essential to study fish welfare from a species-specific perspective.
The aim of this Research Topic is to congregate those original research works or reviews addressing the latest advances in fish welfare research, with a special focus on brain function, and the species-specific fish cognitive abilities. We are seeking research on the physiological and behavioural aspects of animal welfare, as well as field studies related to this concept. Manuscripts employing diverse approaches, such as physiological measurements and behavioural observations, are particularly welcome as contributions to this research topic.
Keywords: Aquaculture, Fish Welfare, Fish Behaviour, Fish Cognition
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
