Aquatic Animal Welfare

Killing Methods for Wild-Caught Fish: Welfare Evidence

Wild-caught fish die through methods ranging from suffocation to ice slurry that cause varying degrees of suffering, with evidence-based humane alternatives available.

Key Facts

Traditional net-caught fish die through suffocation lasting minutes to hours
Ice slurry stunning immobilizes fish without necessarily causing unconsciousness
Percussive stunning followed by spiking causes rapid unconsciousness and death in larger fish
Electrical stunning systems have been developed for use on fishing vessels
Consumer demand for humanely caught fish is creating market incentives for better methods

Welfare Considerations

Wild-caught fish welfare at point of killing is one of the largest categories of preventable suffering in food systems given that trillions of fish are killed annually. Most die through slow asphyxiation, yet rapid killing methods exist. Electrical stunning and percussive stunning cause rapid unconsciousness, dramatically reducing suffering. Consumer demand and regulatory pressure are driving adoption of better methods in some fisheries.

What You Can Do

Choose seafood from fisheries with documented humane killing methods
Support organizations working on wild fish killing welfare standards
Advocate for wild fish welfare to be included in sustainable seafood certification schemes
Donate to fish welfare research into humane killing methods scalable to commercial fisheries