Micropterus salmoides is a subtropical freshwater fish naturally inhabiting shallow vegetated waters of lakes, ponds, swamps, backwaters, pools of creeks, and small to large rivers in North America. Its distribution comprises St. Lawrence and Great Lakes, Mississippi River basins, and Atlantic and Gulf drainages. In aquaculture, besides being considered an excellent food species, it has been introduced widely as a game fish. Several countries report adverse ecological impact after its introduction. Despite that, it is considered a very promising and valuable freshwater species for consumption, being one of the most economically important aquaculture species in China. Pond culture remains as the dominant production method for M. salmoides, mainly based on monoculture under a high density, high feeding volume, and high water exchange rate. This species has some characteristics considered as advantages for aquaculture, such as excellent flesh quality, no intermuscular bones, rapid growth performance, short culture cycle, and strong adaptability. Despite that, there is still a lack of information considering malformation rates and slaughtering procedures on farms. Thus, further studies are needed to better assess and to improve the welfare of this species.
Note: Due to reaching maturity after the typical age and weight at slaughter, there is no age class "Adults" under FARM in the profile. For information from the wild, the age class “Juveniles” may also refer to ADULTS and vice versa, as the literature does not always specify.
For details see: WelfareCheck | farm (latest major release: 2024-04-18)Our new WelfareCheck | farm covers the freshwater species Micropterus salmoides or Largemouth bass. Although originating in North America, this species is one of the most important aquaculture species in China. Aggregation density and reproduction behaviour may be met under specific circumstances, but the rest of the criteria look less promising. The space need exceeds what can be offered in farms, and the aggressive nature of the species can at best be reduced, but not fully avoided. Also, enrichment in ponds currently does not match what the species uses in the wild, and further ways to reduce stress are needed. On malformations and slaughter, we found insufficient data, indicating that currently there probably is no proper slaughter protocol including stunning. If you would like to know more, please find the WelfareCheck here.
