European sea bass slaughter welfare has improved significantly in some producer countries but inconsistency in stunning quality and method remains a major welfare gap across Mediterranean aquaculture.
The welfare of European sea bass at slaughter varies dramatically depending on the method used. Electrical water bath stunning, when correctly calibrated, renders fish immediately unconscious and is the most humane method available at scale. However, many Mediterranean producers still rely on ice slurry without pre-stunning, a method that causes prolonged conscious suffering as fish slowly become hypothermic. Certification schemes requiring specific stunning methods before slaughter are the primary lever for welfare improvement across the sector.