Shrimp Welfare: Shedding light on aquaculture's fastest-growing sector
About This Webinar
Shrimp aquaculture is the fastest-growing food production system in the world. Major industry investment is fuelling rapid expansion, from the first Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) launched in Scotland to production reaching hundreds of millions of tonnes globally. Yet despite this explosive growth, welfare research has struggled to keep pace.
Crustaceans like shrimp and prawns remain some of the most overlooked farmed animals, with virtually no legislative welfare standards and limited research into how farming systems affect their wellbeing. As consumer pressure grows and supermarkets begin demanding higher welfare standards from producers, the industry faces urgent questions, questions that need answers before this sector reaches its projected scale.
Join ESR for a panel discussion exploring the current state of shrimp welfare research, the challenges facing the industry and what's being done to address them.
What We'll Cover
How are shrimp farmed? An overview of different production systems, from the Global South to Europe
Why now? Why shrimp welfare research is urgent, and what needs to be understood before the industry scales further
Key welfare indicators: What we know (and don't know) about environmental enrichment, natural behaviours and animal wellbeing
Slaughter methods: The realities of transport and ‘slaughterhouse-like central locations where animals are stunned, and why this stage deserves scrutiny
Industry pressure: How consumer and retailer demands are reshaping practices and what this means for smallholder producers, including industry developments from the past year
Meet the Panel
Ben Sturgeon — Chief Executive Officer
A qualified veterinary surgeon with over 20 years of experience across academia and practice, Ben now devotes his work to animal welfare and One Health. He is a published author of scientific research, academic texts, opinion pieces and lay articles, and leads his team with a strong focus on mission-driven, values-based work.
Nicola (Niki) Khan — Lead Scientist at ACE Aquatec
Niki's research centres on stress and fitness in animals, with particular interest in how stress and environmental change shape life history and captive animal welfare. Her recent work focuses on humane slaughter for aquatic species, aiming to improve both aquaculture practices and slaughter methods.
Cian Greene — Shrimp Program Officer at the Arthropoda Foundation
Cian recently completed a PhD at the University of the West of Scotland focusing on shrimp stress physiology. His work sits at the intersection of applied welfare research and academic study, focused specifically on shrimp welfare.
Mohamed Bakr — ESR Country Representative for Egypt, PhD researcher at Kafresheikh University.
Mohamed leads several ESR initiatives, including two shrimp welfare research projects exploring ice slurry as a stunning method to reduce suffering at slaughter, and enhancing shrimp welfare through natural habitat mimicry in aquaculture systems. He brings firsthand field expertise to the conversation.
Don't miss this opportunity to hear from leading voices shaping the future of shrimp welfare.