Yang Yifei, Wang Tingyun, Phillips Clive J C, Shao Qingjun, Narayan Edward, Descovich Kris
School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton, QLD 4343, Australia.
School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Gatton, QLD 4343, Australia.
Animals (Basel). 2021 Sep 13;11(9):2678. doi: 10.3390/ani11092678.
China is the largest food fish producer in the world. Chinese consumers normally purchase fish that are still alive to ensure freshness. Therefore, the live transport of fish is important in China's aquaculture, although it carries potential risks for animal welfare. This study investigated the attitudes and knowledge of stakeholders within Chinese aquaculture towards the live transport and welfare of fish. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 participants who were involved with the aquaculture industry in China. Most participants self-rated their transport-related knowledge as moderate and had some understanding of animal welfare, although this term was generally considered only relevant to terrestrial animals. Participants' responses indicated that the live transport of fish occurs frequently in China, generally using sealed tanks, plastic bags, and foam boxes, in purpose-built vehicles. Seasonal changes, such as changes in ambient and water temperature, are considered to be important contributors to successful live transport, as well as sufficient oxygen supplies and stocking density. The use of anesthetics was not commonly reported, particularly in food fish, and fish capture is predominantly by conventional dipnets. The health status of transported fish is determined mostly by morphology (body injury, body or eye color, and fin condition), as well as vigor and swimming ability. Our results indicate that live transport poses a number of welfare risks to fish but that participants in the process associated welfare concerns more with terrestrial animals, not fish.
中国是世界上最大的食用鱼生产国。中国消费者通常购买活鱼以确保新鲜度。因此，活鱼运输在中国水产养殖中很重要，尽管这对动物福利存在潜在风险。本研究调查了中国水产养殖利益相关者对活鱼运输和福利的态度及知识。对12名从事中国水产养殖业的参与者进行了半结构化访谈。大多数参与者将他们与运输相关的知识自我评定为中等水平，并且对动物福利有一些了解，尽管这个术语通常被认为只与陆生动物相关。参与者的回答表明，活鱼运输在中国频繁发生，一般使用密封罐、塑料袋和泡沫箱，装在专用车辆中。季节变化，如环境温度和水温的变化，被认为是活鱼运输成功的重要因素，充足的氧气供应和放养密度也是如此。麻醉剂的使用并不常见，尤其是在食用鱼中，捕鱼主要使用传统的抄网。运输鱼类的健康状况主要由形态（身体损伤、身体或眼睛颜色以及鳍的状况）以及活力和游泳能力来确定。我们的结果表明，活鱼运输给鱼类带来了许多福利风险，但该过程中的参与者将福利问题更多地与陆生动物而非鱼类联系在一起。
