Pike are farmed for recreational fishery stocking across Europe, with welfare challenges during rearing, transport, and the process of capture-and-release angling in stocked fisheries.
Pike welfare in aquaculture and recreational fisheries faces multiple challenges. Intensive rearing of cannibalistic apex predators requires careful size grading and low stocking densities to prevent injury. Handling during harvest and transport causes acute stress. Catch-and-release angling — while allowing recovery — subjects pike to exhaustion, oxygen depletion during fight, and recovery stress. Best-practice catch-and-release minimises handling time, uses barbless hooks, and requires water contact throughout. Temperature at capture affects recovery — warm water capture significantly increases post-release mortality. Welfare in recreational angling is an emerging focus of fish welfare science.