Fish in Aquariums for Aesthetically Enhancing Public Spaces (AAEPS): An incipient welfare issue?

In Disney/Pixar's phenomenally popular animated film Finding Nemo (Stanton, 2003), one of the central themes of fish welfare was highlighted when the moorish idol, Gill, commented, "Fish aren't meant to be kept in a box, kid. It does things to you." The notion that fish might have the capacity to suffer in captivity (Chandroo, Duncan, & Moccia, 2004a, 2004b) links to the larger question of sentiency, which remains a fundamental tenet when justifying concerns for nonhuman animal welfare (Dawkins, 2006; Huntingford et al., 2006). Although terrestrial nonhuman-animal welfare has been discussed and explored for many years, the development of aquatic animal welfare concepts and approaches remains relatively new and beyond public awareness (Braastad, Damsgård, & Juell, 2006; Broom, 2007; Farmed Animal Welfare Council, 1996; Fisheries Society of the British Isles, 2002; Håstein, Scarfe, & Lund, 2005; Iwama, 2007; Schreck, 1981).