ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Animal Behavior and Welfare
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvancing Operational Welfare Indicators in Fish FarmingView all articles
Pre-slaughter transport density and seasonal effects on Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus): welfare and fillet quality outcomes
Provisionally accepted
Daniela Kaizer Terto1*
Ana Maria Bridi1
Rafael Carvalho1
Juliana Delatim Simonato2
Karina Flaiban3Guilherme Agostinis Ferreira1Amanda Bobeti Barro1
Natália Nami Ogawa1Vanessa Bezerra2Nathalia Alves Ferreira1- 1Department of Zootechnics, State University of Londrina, Londrina, Brazil
- 2Universidade Estadual de Londrina Centro de Ciencias Biologicas, Londrina, Brazil
- 3Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Departamento de Medicina Veterinária, LONDRINA, Brazil
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This study evaluated the effects of pre-slaughter transport density on physiological welfare indicators and fillet quality of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) during summer and winter. The experiment was conducted using a completely randomized design in a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement, with three transport densities (375, 425, and 475 kg/m³) and two seasons (summer and winter). Stress biomarkers (glucose and lactate), oxidative stress indicators (reduced glutathione, catalase, and lipid oxidation), water quality parameters, and fillet quality traits (pH, water-holding capacity, color, and texture) were evaluated. Significant density × season interactions were observed for plasma lactate (p = 0.0472), muscle pH (p = 0.0091), water-holding capacity (p < 0.0001), and fillet resilience (p = 0.0043). During summer, fish transported at 375 kg/m³ showed lower lactate concentrations and higher water-holding capacity. During winter, higher muscle pH and resilience were observed at 425 and 475 kg/m³. Water quality variables also exhibited significant density × season interactions (p < 0.05). These results show that seasonal conditions modulate density-dependent physiological responses and fillet quality of Nile tilapia during short-duration pre-slaughter transport with adequate oxygenation.
Keywords: Lactate, Oxidative Stress, pH, Texture profile, Water-holding capacity
Received: 10 Nov 2025; Accepted: 06 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Terto, Bridi, Carvalho, Simonato, Flaiban, Ferreira, Barro, Ogawa, Bezerra and Ferreira. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Daniela Kaizer Terto
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