Morone saxatilis is a very popular species in North America, especially regarding recreational fisheries. Due to the decline of wild stocks, some effort was invested in farming this fish both for re-stocking and commercial purposes. However, there is a lack of knowledge in many aspects of its biology, especially regarding common aquaculture stressors such as handling, aggression, incidence of malformations, and humane slaughter protocols. Most of the information available is old and yet suggest that the welfare state of this species is poor, especially concerning spatial needs and induced spawning practices. Furthermore, this species is currently being hybridised with other Moronids, which raises welfare issues because of the lack of knowledge on the effects of such practices. The welfare of M. saxatilis may be improved if production is focused on freshwater populations, uses appropriate densities, develops solutions towards the use of substrate, and implements humane slaughter procedures.
For details see: WelfareCheck | farm (latest major release: 2020-02-26)Series 16 of FishEthoGroup's podcast programme on the fair-fish database entails episodes on Morone saxatilis (Striped bass), Barbonymus gonionotus (Silver barb), and Oncorhynchus mykiss (Rainbow trout). In snippets of about 3 min each, you get to know the most important things we researched on these species for the fair-fish database. To listen to the episodes, click on the links above or go to FishEthoGroup.
