New study provides practical solutions to improve lumpfish welfare

 

A new study from the SMARTAQUA team offers 16 practical solutions for improving the welfare of lumpfish and illustrates the merits of the Delphi approach for achieving consensus among stakeholders on welfare needs, targeting research where is most needed and generating workable solutions.

The study was conducted during the workshop hosted by the Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Research on Lumpfish Welfare (Swansea, 14 May 2019), with the participation of 53 experts from three main stakeholder groups: fish farming, academia, and animal welfare. The study aims were threefold: (1) to identify the main challenges and knowledge gaps surrounding lumpfish welfare, (2) to offer potential solutions and identify opportunities for improving lumpfish welfare, and (3) to assess the degree of consensus among different stakeholders on the value of different welfare metrics.

Participants highlighted fin erosion and body damage as the most useful and practical operational welfare indicators.

This study contributed to the successful Seafood Innovation Fund application.
The CSAR team is now developing The Lumpfish Welfare Watcher – a web-based application designed to help fish farmers assess and improve the welfare of lumpfish.

The full article is open access: Garcia de Leaniz, C, Gutierrez Rabadan, C, Barrento, SI, et al. Addressing the welfare needs of farmed lumpfish: Knowledge gaps, challenges and solutions. Rev Aquacult. 2021; 00: 1– 17. https://doi.org/10.1111/raq.12589