The book, entitled “Welfare of farmed fish in present and future production systems”, summarises the view of more than 80 experts in the field of fish welfare, collected over a period of more than five years in an international network entitled “Welfare of Fish in European Aquaculture” (Cost action 867), which was sponsored by the COST Office. COST is the acronym for European Cooperation in Science and Technology. During the time of the action a shift became evident in the general perception of fish welfare. It now not only includes variables with very direct effects on growth, and thereby the economy of the farmer, such as disease, water and feed quality, but the term also includes fish preferences and biology-based stimulation measures. This Cost action has contributed to the notion that welfare sets biological criteria for a sustainable production system. We present the reader with an overview of the results obtained, which can help to guide the way towards welfare of farmed fish in present and future production systems. The first chapter gives an overview of the scientific papers that follow. All scientific papers and the first chapter were previously published in Fish Physiology and Biochemistry, vol. 38, number 1, 2012. Given the accruing interest in fish welfare in society, each of these scientific papers should be accessible for stakeholders that are not part of the research community. For that reason each of the scientific papers is preceded by a summary for non-experts. Previously published in Fish Physiology and Biochemistry, vol. 38, number 1, 2012

The book, entitled “Welfare of farmed fish in present and future production systems”, summarises the view of more than 80 experts in the field of fish welfare, collected over a period of more than five years in an international network entitled “Welfare of Fish in European Aquaculture” (Cost action 867), which was sponsored by the COST Office. COST is the acronym for European Cooperation in Science and Technology. During the time of the action a shift became evident in the general perception of fish welfare. It now not only includes variables with very direct effects on growth, and thereby the economy of the farmer, such as disease, water and feed quality, but the term also includes fish preferences and biology-based stimulation measures. This Cost action has contributed to the notion that welfare sets biological criteria for a sustainable production system. We present the reader with an overview of the results obtained, which can help to guide the way towards welfare of farmed fish in present and future production systems. The first chapter gives an overview of the scientific papers that follow. All scientific papers and the first chapter were previously published in Fish Physiology and Biochemistry, vol. 38, number 1, 2012. Given the accruing interest in fish welfare in society, each of these scientific papers should be accessible for stakeholders that are not part of the research community. For that reason each of the scientific papers is preceded by a summary for non-experts. Previously published in Fish Physiology and Biochemistry, vol. 38, number 1, 2012

Fish have the same stress response and powers of nociception as mammals. Their behavioural responses to a variety of situations suggest a considerable ability for higher level neural processing – a level of consciousness equivalent perhaps to that attributed to mammals. Each chapter of this book has been written by specialists in their field. The subject matter is wide ranging and covers in detail concepts of animal welfare in addition to more specific aspects of fish welfare. Philosophical concepts of welfare are discussed along with more practical areas of fish welfare encompassing all husbandry and management activities that have a potential to affect the welfare of the fish in our care. This book is an essential purchase for fish veterinarians, fish farmers, fish biologists and those involved in the aquaculture industry and its regulation.

This book investigates how fish experience their lives, their amazing senses and abilities, and how human actions impact their quality of life. The authors examine the concept of fish welfare and the scientific knowledge behind the inclusion of fish within the moral circle, and how this knowledge can change the way we treat fish in the future. In many countries fish are already protected by animal welfare legislation in the same way as mammals, but in practice there is still a major gap between how we ethically view these groups and how we actually treat them. The poor treatment of fish represents a massive animal welfare problem in aquaculture and fisheries, both in terms of the number of animals affected and the severity of the welfare issues. Thanks to its interdisciplinary scope, this thought-provoking book appeals to professionals, academics and students in the fields of animal welfare, cognition and physiology, as well as fisheries and aquaculture management.

The welfare of fish in aquaculture is of increasing public concern in Europe and thus of growing importance for fish farmers. Although the topic can be regarded as controversial, due in particular to the lack of available knowledge, there is nevertheless an urgent need for fish farmers, authorities and scientists to develop criteria, approaches and practices to monitor and safeguard the welfare of cultured fish. The objective of this document is to provide the opinion of EIFAAC Member institutions– as the reference body in the field of inland fisheries and aquaculture – on how, given the current state of scientific knowledge, fish welfare issues can be integrated into best practice guidelines for fish culture. This report deals with the welfare of farmed finfish and neither addresses capture fisheries, be they commercial or recreational, nor welfare issues related to the culture of crustaceans and molluscs. The report focuses on the welfare issues of on-growing fish while giving little to no attention to larvae/fry and broodstock. Likewise, the report focuses primarily on the culture conditions for farming of fish and gives little attention to welfare aspects related to transport and slaughter. Finally, emphasis is given to the culture of freshwater fish, but marine species are included where appropriate. It is understood that the principal welfare issues are comparable for freshwater and marine fish culture.

Fish Physiology, Volume 38 in this ongoing series, examines how the inherent potential of fish to express traits of economic value can be realized through aquaculture. Topics covered include the regulation of the reproductive cycle of captive fish, shifting carnivorous fish towards plant-based diets, defining the challenges, opportunities and optimal conditions for growth under intensive culture (including in Recirculating Aquaculture Systems), enhancing immune function and fish health during culture, identifying and managing maladaptive physiological responses to aquaculture stressors, establishing welfare guidelines for farmed fish, phenotypic and physiological responses to genetic modification, Zebrafish as a research tool, and the aquaculture of air-breathing fish. Contains contributions from an international board of authors, each with decades of aquaculture expertise Provides the most up-to-date information on the fundamental role that physiology plays in optimizing fish performance in aquaculture Provides the latest release in the Fish Physiology series that tackles how the manipulation of biological processes can be used to maximize the expression of beneficial production traits in fish aquaculture

Fish welfare is currently one of the most important concerns in aquaculture, and knowledge on how to improve fish welfare should be practical and implementable for all aquaculture farms. The objective of this Research Topic is to extend the current knowledge on fish welfare and to identify more comprehensive and practical indicators of the existing standard for fish welfare that are easily, more comprehensive and practical indicators in order to make it easy to implement on fish farms. A secondary objective is to identify which welfare issues are most relevant. It is important to mention that good fish welfare cannot simply be extrapolated from terrestrial animals. It has to take into consideration that different species of fish must also be taken into consideration. Whether these are species of commercial interest or not, they have different behaviour and respond differently to stress, and consequently, require a species-specific approach to improving their welfare. Intensive fish production systems have important negative consequences for the animals including impaired health and erratic behaviour. For many industries, their main goal is to achieve higher production whilst majority of the time, welfare is not take it into consideration. Better conditions for intensively produced farm animals, including fish, should result in improved efficiency and performance and higher quality product for consumers. We welcome papers demonstrating such effects. This research topic is related to the welfare of farmed fish. Fish welfare is related to how we treat our fish: the type of feed, how often we feed them, the stocking density that it is used, the environment where they are growing, how we grow them, from fertilized egg to fish ready to sell for public consumption. This Research Topic should address fish welfare during the whole growth period, and may also include papers on the attitudes and perceptions of stakeholders, including fish farmers and public about fish welfare.