Abstract

Previous reviews of stress, and the stress hormone cortisol, in fish have focussed on physiology, due to interest in impacts on aquaculture production.
Here, we discuss cortisol in relation to fish welfare. Cortisol is a readily measured component of the primary (neuroendocrine) stress response and is relevant to fish welfare as it affects physiological and brain functions and modifies behaviour. However, we argue that cortisol has little value if welfare is viewed purely from a functional (or behavioural) perspective—the cortisol response itself is a natural, adaptive response and is not predictive of coping as
downstream impacts on function and behaviour are dose-, time- and context-dependent and not predictable.