Aquaglobal Veterinary Consulting

23/07/2026

🌊 How long can aquatic animals remain out of water before their welfare is compromised?

The answer isn't as simple as a number.
It depends on the species, the environmental conditions, and how the animals are handled.

🐟 Fish, 🦐 shrimp, 🦞 crustaceans, 🐚 abalone and bivalves all respond differently to air exposure. Yet emersion remains one of the most physiologically challenging events they experience during the peri-harvest period.

Although air exposure is often unavoidable during harvesting, we still don't know exactly how long different aquatic species can safely remain out of water before their welfare is compromised.

Understanding these differences is essential for improving handling practices, reducing unnecessary stress, and advancing animal welfare across aquaculture.

🎥 In the latest video in my Aquaculture Peri-harvest Insights series, I explore what current science tells us about emersion and why it matters for both animal welfare and industry best practice.


👉 Watch the video and let me know: What improvements do you think are needed to better protect aquatic animals during harvest?

07/07/2026

Did you know that crowding before slaughter is one of the highest animal welfare risk stages in fish farming? 🐟

This short clip shows what pre-slaughter crowding looks like in practice — and the difference between fish that are stressed and fish that are not.

Fish crowded too densely or too quickly will usually show escape behaviour, splashing, and gasping at the surface. Calm fish with minimal distress mean the density, duration, and water quality are being managed relatively well.

Aquatic animal welfare around harvest time is under-documented. We are trying to create awareness that — and we need your help.

📲 We are looking for anyone in the aquaculture community willing to share photos or videos of peri-harvest practices — crowding, harvest, transport, or slaughter — to support welfare education and research.

No experience in welfare assessment needed, just a willingness to contribute to something that matters.

👉 DM us or email [email protected]

03/07/2026

🎥🐟 What happens to aquatic animals before slaughter?

The final hours before slaughter can have a major impact on animal welfare, product quality, and producer outcomes—but they're often overlooked.

In this short video, discover the "peri-harvest journey" and why it matters.

💬 Which stage do you think has the biggest impact on aquatic animal welfare?

02/07/2026

As a veterinarian working in aquaculture, I've become increasingly interested in a question that often receives far less attention than it deserves:
how can we better protect aquatic animal welfare while supporting practical, sustainable aquaculture?

Over the coming months I'll be sharing evidence-based insights, practical experiences, research highlights and educational resources focused on aquatic animal health and welfare. My hope is that these posts will be useful to farmers, veterinarians, researchers, students, processors, policymakers and others working across the aquaculture sector.

This is a launch of a new educational series : Aquaculture Peri-harvest Insights.

The series explores one of the most important, yet often overlooked, stages of aquaculture—the peri-harvest period—and examines how decisions made during the final hours before harvest can influence animal welfare, product quality and producer outcomes.

I'd be delighted if you would follow the journey, share your perspectives and connect if we have common interests in aquatic animal welfare, aquaculture or veterinary science.

29/06/2026

🧭 Before investing in aquatic animal welfare initiatives, ask one question:

"Are you ready?"

Our latest article "Readiness Before Reform: The Next Step in Aquatic Animal Welfare
" explores why implementation readiness is the foundation for lasting welfare change.

🔗 https://www.aquaglobalvet.com/readiness-before-reform-the-next-step-in-aquatic-animal-welfare

Discover why assessing readiness before implementing aquatic animal welfare initiatives is the key to achieving lasting, meaningful change.

26/06/2026

Before investing in training or technology...

Before changing curriculum...

Before launching a new aquatic animal welfare programme...

Ask one simple question:

Are we ready?

Real and lasting change doesn't happen because we have good intentions. It happens when the right foundations are already in place.

That's the idea behind the Aquatic Animal Welfare Readiness Index.

Rather than asking how much people know about welfare, it asks whether an organisation, institution or country is truly prepared to implement meaningful change.

In this short video, I introduce why readiness matters—and why it could be the missing piece in improving aquatic animal welfare.

🎥 Watch the video and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

If you'd like to learn more about the Aquatic Animal Welfare Readiness Index or explore how it could support your organisation, get in touch.

🌐 [www.aquaglobalvet.com](http://www.aquaglobalvet.com)

09/06/2026

Across many aquaculture systems, health management remains largely reactive, with action often taken only after mortality appears or production losses become unavoidable.
But what if we could identify risks earlier?

Early detection, routine monitoring, strong biosecurity, veterinary oversight, and strategic health planning all play an important role in reducing disease risks and building more resilient aquaculture systems.

To explore this topic further, I recently developed a 4-part video series on preventative veterinary health management in aquaculture and have now published a new blog article that brings these ideas together.

👇 Share your thoughts in the comments.
📖 Read the full article here: https://www.aquaglobalvet.com/preventative-veterinary-health-management-a-smarter-approach-for-aquaculture

08/06/2026

🐠 🐠 🐠
Disease prevention starts with monitoring.

This is the final video in our "The Role of Preventative Veterinary Health Management in Modern Aquaculture" series.

By the time aquatic animals begin showing obvious signs of disease, valuable opportunities for early intervention may already have been missed. Regular monitoring of animal health, behaviour, water quality, mortality trends, and production performance can help farmers identify emerging problems and take action before losses become significant.

Preventative health management is not just about avoiding disease—it is about supporting healthier animals, improving welfare, strengthening farm performance, and building more resilient aquaculture systems.

👇 Share your thoughts in the comments.

04/06/2026

📊 AQUACULTURE FARMERS POLL

Aquaculture farmers and farm managers: if you could anonymously compare your farm against other successful aquaculture farms, what would you most like to benchmark?

I am an aquatic veterinarian (Aquaglobal Veterinary Consulting) and interested in understanding which performance areas fish and shrimp farmers consider most valuable for comparison and learning.

Feel free to comment on other areas you would find valuable to benchmark.

🌊 Survival rate
🌊 Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR)
🌊 Growth rate
🌊 Water quality management
🌊 Disease occurrence
🌊 Animal welfare indicators

💬 Comment below if your answer is not listed.

03/06/2026

🎉 Exciting News! 🎉

We are pleased to announce the launch of the Aquaglobal Vet Shop!

Inspired by aquatic animal health, fish welfare, aquaculture, and veterinary medicine, the shop features original designs on apparel, mugs, stickers, posters, and more.

Whether you're a veterinarian, fish farmer, aquaculture professional, student, or aquatic animal enthusiast, there's something for you.

Every design is created with a passion for healthy fish, sustainable aquaculture, and animal welfare.

🛒 Visit the shop: aquaglobalvet.redbubble.com

Email [email protected] for enquiries