Field Report on Common Chinese Fish Species_ Farming and Welfare (Fish Welfare Initiative et al.)

Based on the note on page 2 ("Please see the Executive Summary, written in English, for the main findings."), the following "Abstract" serves as the report's executive summary.

The main purpose of this field visit is to gain a deeper understanding of the farming and welfare status of common fish species in aquaculture in China. During the period from October 18 to November 2, 2022, with the assistance of various parties, we selected a total of 12 aquaculture farms in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Lianyungang City and Yancheng City of Jiangsu Province to conduct field research. The species of fish included grass carp (grass carp), crucian carp (including common crucian carp and golden crucian carp), common carp, catfish, loach (including native loach and Taiwan loach) and California perch. The research methods of this fieldwork mainly used literature research, interview method and participant observation method. We conduct in-depth observation and analysis from the three dimensions of farming environment, specific farming practices and understanding of fish welfare.

Our field visit shows that, from the perspective of fish species, the farming conditions of different species are not the same, and the current status of their farming is also deeply affected by the market. Among them, grass carp is the species with the largest freshwater aquaculture output in China, and its market is relatively broad and stable, and it has a relatively strong representativeness of aquaculture. Although there are currently many large-scale intensive enterprise farms farming grass carp, the main group of grass carp farming is still a large number of small family farms. In the grass carp farms in Guangzhou targeting the mid-to-high-end market, we found that the grass carp farming has been equipped with a professional team for farming, feed ratio, water quality control, fishing and transportation, etc., and the farming operation practice has been standardized and standardized; but in small In most family farms, the farming practice of grass carp still maintains a relatively traditional model. Most of the farmers rely on experience to support their daily specific operations.

During the farming process, there are many fish diseases and relatively high mortality. In addition, silver carp and silver carp, which are usually mixed with grass carp, are used to purify the water quality of aquaculture in the farms investigated this time, and at the same time promote the increase of production and farming income. Similar species also include yellow catfish, dace and herring. The main purpose of farming them is to clean impurities at different water levels in fish ponds, increase income while ensuring the growth environment of other main species. In Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province, we also found that for carp whose consumption market is unstable, its farming situation is greatly fluctuated by the market. However, crucian carp and catfish are plagued by diseases due to the pollution of local water sources. Loach farming is a major feature of Lianyungang City. Most loach are exported to South Korea and Japan. On the one hand, the farmers must ensure that the loach meets the quality standards for export. resulting in high mortality and morbidity. Finally, California sea bass is a species that has become very popular in the Chinese market in recent years. In the California perch fry farms investigated in this study, the farms adhere to the principle of "respecting the fish's nature" and carry out professional and refined recirculating aquaculture, which greatly reduces the mortality rate of California perch fry.

This field survey also found that from the perspective of the types of farms, there are obvious differences in the specific farming practices between enterprises and small family farmers. First of all, due to the different market positioning, enterprise-type farms pursue the mid-to-high-end market, and their product quality has higher standards; while small family farmers mainly target the lower-end market, and care more about output, while product quality is higher. Often ranked second. Secondly, at the technical level, enterprise farms are usually equipped with professional technical teams and a large number of professional farming equipment, and have relatively complete management in terms of employee training, farming, water quality treatment, disease prevention, feed research and development, and vaccine injection; and In small family farms, the knowledge of farmers can only be gained through experience, or from a small amount of free training and exchange of farming experience. And in many cases, small family farmers are struggling to balance farming costs and market returns. Finally, in terms of resisting external risks, small family farms are much more vulnerable than enterprise farms. The farming risks of small family farms can usually only be shared among members of the family, while enterprises have more capital and social resources to utilize.

Through this field visit, we also further understand the understanding and thinking of different subjects in the aquaculture industry on fish welfare. We found that markets, including feed and fish medicine markets, as well as consumer demand greatly influence the welfare of the fish itself in aquaculture practice. Facing the instability of the market, most farmers, especially small family farmers, face great farming and investment risks. How to survive has become the primary goal of farmers. Neglect of fish welfare during farming. Secondly, when feed and drug sellers continue to invest a large number of sales personnel with professional backgrounds into the farms for publicity and product technology promotion, on the one hand, it provides more technical support for family farmers, and promotes fish welfare to a certain extent. However, the "profitable" nature of this sales model makes this kind of technical support oriented, so it is difficult to gain the real trust of farmers, so this potential welfare impact is discounted. In the eyes of consumers, the pervasive public opinion that the use of aquatic products is unsafe and irregular also undermines their trust in the product itself. Therefore, the instability of this kind of market consumption behavior further increases the market risk of farming practices, which in turn makes farmers put their own survival first, "protect their own welfare first, and then protect the welfare of fish." It has become the understanding of "welfare" for many farmers.