Information
Version: B | 1.1 (2022-07-20)
Please note: This part of the profile is currently being revised.
WelfareScore | farm
Condensed assessment of the species' likelihood and potential for good fish welfare in aquaculture, based on ethological findings for 10 crucial criteria.
- Li = Likelihood that the individuals of the species experience good welfare under minimal farming conditions
- Po = Potential of the individuals of the species to experience good welfare under high-standard farming conditions
- Ce = Certainty of our findings in Likelihood and Potential
WelfareScore = Sum of criteria scoring "High" (max. 10)
General remarks
Acipenser stellatus is found in the Black and Caspian seas and connecting rivers, to where it migrates for spawning in spring and summer. It is a critically endangered species, driven to near extinction by overfishing, habitat destruction, and disruption of river connectivity. Although it has been in the focus of aquaculture because it is the source of the sevruga caviar, there is a severe lack of knowledge concerning biology and behaviour in the wild (home range, aggregation, aggression for example) and also many aspects of farming (aggression, environmental enrichment, stress, and slaughter). This lack of knowledge not only severely hinders the assessment of its welfare state but also impedes almost any perspective for improvement.
1 Home range
Many species traverse in a limited horizontal space (even if just for a certain period of time per year); the home range may be described as a species' understanding of its environment (i.e., its cognitive map) for the most important resources it needs access to.
What is the probability of providing the species' whole home range in captivity?
It is unclear for minimal and high-standard farming conditions. Our conclusion is based on a low amount of evidence.2 Depth range
Given the availability of resources (food, shelter) or the need to avoid predators, species spend their time within a certain depth range.
What is the probability of providing the species' whole depth range in captivity?
It is low for minimal and high-standard farming conditions. Our conclusion is based on a medium amount of evidence.3 Migration
Some species undergo seasonal changes of environments for different purposes (feeding, spawning, etc.), and to move there, they migrate for more or less extensive distances.
What is the probability of providing farming conditions that are compatible with the migrating or habitat-changing behaviour of the species?
It is low for minimal and high-standard farming conditions. Our conclusion is based on a low amount of evidence.4 Reproduction
A species reproduces at a certain age, season, and sex ratio and possibly involving courtship rituals.
What is the probability of the species reproducing naturally in captivity without manipulation of these circumstances?
It is low for minimal and high-standard farming conditions. Our conclusion is based on a medium amount of evidence.5 Aggregation
Species differ in the way they co-exist with conspecifics or other species from being solitary to aggregating unstructured, casually roaming in shoals or closely coordinating in schools of varying densities.
What is the probability of providing farming conditions that are compatible with the aggregation behaviour of the species?
It is unclear for minimal and high-standard farming conditions. Our conclusion is based on a low amount of evidence.6 Aggression
There is a range of adverse reactions in species, spanning from being relatively indifferent towards others to defending valuable resources (e.g., food, territory, mates) to actively attacking opponents.
What is the probability of the species being non-aggressive and non-territorial in captivity?
It is unclear for minimal and high-standard farming conditions. Our conclusion is based on a low amount of evidence.7 Substrate
Depending on where in the water column the species lives, it differs in interacting with or relying on various substrates for feeding or covering purposes (e.g., plants, rocks and stones, sand and mud, turbidity).
What is the probability of providing the species' substrate and shelter needs in captivity?
It is low for minimal farming conditions. It is medium for high-standard farming conditions. Our conclusion is based on a medium amount of evidence.8 Stress
Farming involves subjecting the species to diverse procedures (e.g., handling, air exposure, short-term confinement, short-term crowding, transport), sudden parameter changes or repeated disturbances (e.g., husbandry, size-grading).
What is the probability of the species not being stressed?
It is unclear for minimal and high-standard farming conditions. Our conclusion is based on a low amount of evidence.9 Malformations
Deformities that – in contrast to diseases – are commonly irreversible may indicate sub-optimal rearing conditions (e.g., mechanical stress during hatching and rearing, environmental factors unless mentioned in crit. 3, aquatic pollutants, nutritional deficiencies) or a general incompatibility of the species with being farmed.
What is the probability of the species being malformed rarely?
It is low for minimal farming conditions. It is medium for high-standard farming conditions. Our conclusion is based on a medium amount of evidence.10 Slaughter
The cornerstone for a humane treatment is that slaughter a) immediately follows stunning (i.e., while the individual is unconscious), b) happens according to a clear and reproducible set of instructions verified under farming conditions, and c) avoids pain, suffering, and distress.
What is the probability of the species being slaughtered according to a humane slaughter protocol?
It is low for minimal farming conditions. It is high for high-standard farming conditions. Our conclusion is based on a low amount of evidence.Side note: Domestication
Teletchea and Fontaine introduced 5 domestication levels illustrating how far species are from having their life cycle closed in captivity without wild input, how long they have been reared in captivity, and whether breeding programmes are in place.
What is the species’ domestication level?
DOMESTICATION LEVEL 4 20, level 5 being fully domesticated.
Side note: Forage fish in the feed
450-1,000 milliard wild-caught fishes end up being processed into fish meal and fish oil each year which contributes to overfishing and represents enormous suffering. There is a broad range of feeding types within species reared in captivity.
To what degree may fish meal and fish oil based on forage fish be replaced by non-forage fishery components (e.g., poultry blood meal) or sustainable sources (e.g., soybean cake)?
All age classes: WILD: carnivorous 11 9 6 8. FARM: fed with live feed supplements, dislike pellets 2. No replacement of fish meal and fish oil reported in literature.
Side note: Commercial relevance
How much is this species farmed annually?
Glossary
ANADROMOUS = migrating from the sea into fresh water to spawn
DOMESTICATION LEVEL 4 = entire life cycle closed in captivity without wild inputs 20
FARM = setting in farming environment or under conditions simulating farming environment in terms of size of facility or number of individuals
IND = individuals
JUVENILES = fully developed but immature individuals
LARVAE = hatching to mouth opening
PELAGIC = living independent of bottom and shore of a body of water
SPAWNERS = adults during the spawning season; in farms: adults that are kept as broodstock
WILD = setting in the wild
Bibliography
2 Patriche, Neculaí, Constantin Pecheanu, Mircea Vasile, Marlena Talpes, Dan Mirea, María Fetecau, Victor Cristea, and Roland Billard. 2002. Rearing the Stellate Sturgeon Acipenser stellatus in Mono- and Polyculture with Chinese and Common Carps in Ponds. International Review of Hydrobiology 87: 561–568. https://doi.org/10.1002/1522-2632(200211)87:5/6<561::AID-IROH561>3.0.CO;2-W.
3 Chebanov, Mikhail S., and Elena V. Galich. 2011. Sturgeon hatchery manual. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper 558. Ankara: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
4 Saraiva, João L. 2018. Personal communication.
5 Semenkova, T., I. Barannikova, D. E. Kime, B. G. McAllister, L. Bayunova, V. Dyubin, and N. Kolmakov. 2002. Sex steroid profiles in female and male stellate sturgeon (Acipenser stellatus Pallas) during final maturation induced by hormonal treatment. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 18: 375–381. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1439-0426.2002.00368.x.
6 Kottelat, Maurice, and Jörg Freyhof. 2007. Handbook of European freshwater fishes. Publications Kottelat.
7 Khodorevskaya, R. P., and Ye. V. Krasikov. 1999. Sturgeon abundance and distribution in the Caspian Sea. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 15: 106–113. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0426.1999.tb00218.x.
8 Reinartz, Ralf. 2002. Sturgeons in the Danube river: biology, status, conservation; literature study. IAD.
9 FAO. 2017. FAO Fisheries & Aquaculture - Species Fact Sheets - Acipenser stellatus (Pallas, 1771).
10 Veshchev, PV. 1994. The Scale of Natural Reproduction of Volga Starred Sturgeon under Current Environmental Conditions. Ekologiya: 59–68.
11 Zykova, G.F., and Yu. A. Kim. 2017. Acipenser stellatus, Pallas. http://archive.iwlearn.net/www.caspianenvironment.org/www.caspianenvironment.org/CaspBIS/Taxons/Taxon010f.html?taxonid=6. Accessed November 14.
12 Nelson, Troy C., Phaedra Doukakis, Steven T. Lindley, Andrea D. Schreier, Joseph E. Hightower, Larry R. Hildebrand, Rebecca E. Whitlock, and Molly A. H. Webb. 2013. Research Tools to Investigate Movements, Migrations, and Life History of Sturgeons (Acipenseridae), with an Emphasis on Marine-Oriented Populations. PLOS ONE 8: e71552. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0071552.
13 Kynard, B., R. Suciu, and M. Horgan. 2002. Migration and habitats of diadromous Danube River sturgeons in Romania: 1998–2000. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 18: 529–535. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1439-0426.2002.00404.x.
14 Dicu, Maria D, Victor Cristea, Marilena Maereanu, Lorena Dediu, SM Petrea, and others. 2013. The effect of stocking density on growth performance and hematological profile of stellate sturgeon (A. stellatus, Pallas, 1771) fingerlings reared in an industrial ‘flow-through’aquaculture system. Bulletin UASVM Animal Science and Biotechnologies 70: 244–254.
15 Palatnikov, GM, and RU KASIMOV. 2010. Sturgeons–Contemporaries of Dinosaurs. Baku.
16 Ruban, G. I., N. V. Akimova, V. B. Goriounova, E. V. Mikodina, M. P. Nikolskaya, V. G. Shagayeva, M. I Shatunovsky, and S. A. Sokolova. 2006. Abnormalities in Sturgeon gametogenesis and postembryonal ontogeny. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 22: 213–220. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0426.2007.00954.x.
17 Ruban, G. I., N. V. Akimova, V. B. Goriounova, E. V. Mikodina, M. P. Nikolskaya, A. V. Novosadova, H. K. Rosenthal, S. A. Sokolova, V. G. Shagayeva, and M. I. Shatunovsky. 2015. Atlas of abnormalities in gametogenesis and early life stages of sturgeons. Vol. 7. Special Publication. World Sturgeon Conservation Society.
18 Williot, Patrick, Mikhail Chebanov, and Guy Nonnotte. 2018. Welfare in the Cultured Siberian Sturgeon, Acipenser baerii Brandt: State of the Art. In The Siberian Sturgeon (Acipenser baerii, Brandt, 1869) Volume 2 - Farming, 403–450. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61676-6_19.
19 Anonymous farmers. 2018. Personal communication.
20 Teletchea, Fabrice, and Pascal Fontaine. 2012. Levels of domestication in fish: implications for the sustainable future of aquaculture. Fish and Fisheries 15: 181–195. https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12006.
