Executive summary: Pre-slaughter mortality rates of farmed shrimp are high, with around 53% dying before slaughter age, but it is unclear if reducing this mortality should be a key focus for improving shrimp welfare.
Key points:
Survival curve modeling and literature review suggest over 50% of farmed shrimp die before slaughter, with most deaths in the larval stage.
Mortality rates are higher for Macrobrachium rosenbergii and Penaeus monodon compared to Penaeus vannamei.
Shrimp mortality rates are high compared to broiler chickens but in the middle of the range for other farmed aquatic animals.
Causes of mortality likely include sensitivity to environmental conditions in early life stages, transportation, disease, and possibly artificial selection for growth over survival.
Reducing mortality may not improve aggregate welfare if surviving shrimp still suffer, and could lead to industry growth. More research on shrimp sentience development is needed.
Advocates should focus on improving ongrowing stage conditions rather than explicitly aiming to reduce mortality, especially in the larval stage.
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Executive summary: Pre-slaughter mortality rates of farmed shrimp are high, with around 53% dying before slaughter age, but it is unclear if reducing this mortality should be a key focus for improving shrimp welfare.
Key points:
Survival curve modeling and literature review suggest over 50% of farmed shrimp die before slaughter, with most deaths in the larval stage.
Mortality rates are higher for Macrobrachium rosenbergii and Penaeus monodon compared to Penaeus vannamei.
Shrimp mortality rates are high compared to broiler chickens but in the middle of the range for other farmed aquatic animals.
Causes of mortality likely include sensitivity to environmental conditions in early life stages, transportation, disease, and possibly artificial selection for growth over survival.
Reducing mortality may not improve aggregate welfare if surviving shrimp still suffer, and could lead to industry growth. More research on shrimp sentience development is needed.
Advocates should focus on improving ongrowing stage conditions rather than explicitly aiming to reduce mortality, especially in the larval stage.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.