Aquatic animal health and welfare

The current global aquaculture industry faces simultaneously great developments and challenges: new emerging diseases, high mortality rates, and difficulties in long-term sustainability, for example. These problems are particularly linked to the welfare status of aquaculture animals. The economic loss induced by diseases can be reduced by integrating animal welfare concepts into aquaculture practices and improving aquatic food safety. Thus, it is essential to improve the welfare of aquaculture species for the green, healthy, and sustainable development of the aquaculture industry. Considering the Aquatic Animal Health and Welfare Strategy released by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) in 2021, we have proposed this Topic to delve into the specific issues and implementation plans concerning aquatic animal health and welfare. We aim to publish about 10 papers on the following topics:

• Aquatic animal breeding and welfare
• Aquatic animal farming and welfare
• Aquatic animal transportation and welfare
• Aquatic animal slaughter and welfare
• New technologies for aquatic animal welfare improvement
• Aquatic animal welfare development strategy

Important deadlines

Submissions close: 30 June 2025

Expected time to first decision: 4 weeks after submission

Open access (OA) fee: Waived

Submission instructions

Please read the Guide for Authors before submitting. All submissions should be made via the online editorial system.

Guest Editors