Welfare of Farmed Tilapia

The welfare of farmed tilapia is attracting increasing attention as it becomes an important global food commodity. Increasingly subject to intensification of culture through development of nutrition, system design, health management and genetic improvement, impacts on animal welfare have often been ignored. Widely consumed in Low and Medium Income Countries where production is located, tilapias are often marketed live and slaughtered under a range of conditions. Understanding opportunities for improved welfare that also enhance environmental and economic performance, or at least make trade-offs explicit, are required. There is also a need to consider perceptions and attitudes of stakeholders in tilapia value chains that affect potential changes to practice and welfare outcomes.

The International Symposium of Tilapia in Aquaculture held in Bangkok 2-5th November will feature a special session on welfare in tilapia and serve as an anchor for topic submissions. The goal of this Research Topic is to establish a benchmark of high-quality research across disciplinary boundaries that puts tilapia welfare on the map. This Research Topic will provide an opportunity to broaden contributions and include different perspectives and disciplines including those from social scientists.

The Topic Editors invite contributions that range across the full spectrum of tilapia focused research framed to improve welfare outcomes. This could include the impact of environmental factors such as water quality, temperature, and oxygen levels, nutrition and feeding practices and the management of health status. Behavioral studies that seek to predict and understand welfare outcomes are encouraged, as are studies that focus on perceptions and practice by stakeholders through the value chain. Papers that describe the impacts of international certification and local norms and culture on farming and marketing practices are encouraged. as are those documenting educational and training initiatives. Studies are sought for inclusion that will support development of standard operating procedures for humane handling, transport, and slaughter practices.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: welfare, tilapia, health management, genetic improvement, aquaculture

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.