What matters to shrimps? Factors affecting shrimp welfare in aquaculture

Abstract

Shrimp Welfare Project (SWP) produced this report to guide our decision making on funding for further research into shrimp welfare and on which interventions to allocate our resources. We are cross-posting this on the forum because we think it may be useful to share the complexity of understanding the needs of beneficiaries who cannot communicate with us. We also hope it will be useful for other organisations working on shrimp welfare, and it’s also hopefully an interesting read! The report was written by Lucas Lewit-Mendes, with detailed feedback provided by Sasha Saugh and Aaron Boddy. We are thankful for and build on the work and feedback of other NGOs, including Charity Entrepreneurship, Rethink Priorities, Aquatic Life Institute, Fish Welfare Initiative, Compassion in World Farming and Crustacean Compassion. All errors and shortcomings are our own. While many environmental conditions and farming practices could plausibly affect the welfare of shrimps, little research has been done to assess which factors most affect shrimp welfare. This report aims to assess the importance of various factors for the welfare of farmed shrimps, with a particular focus on Litopenaeus vannamei (also known as Penaeus vannamei, or whiteleg shrimp), due to the scale and intensity of farming (\textasciitilde171-405 billion globally per annum) (Mood and Brooke, 2019). Where evidence is scarce, we extend our research to other shrimps, other decapods, or even other aquatic animals. Further research into the most significant factors and practices affecting farmed shrimp welfare is needed.