Commercial fishing nets cause the deaths of trillions of fish and non-target species annually, with welfare considerations largely absent from current fishing regulation.
Net fishing welfare is the largest single source of animal suffering by number of individuals in global food production: fish in nets experience progressive hypoxia as oxygen depletes, physical crushing as the catch compresses, and in some cases hours before death. The scale — measured in trillions of individuals — makes this one of the most numerically significant welfare problems that welfare science has not yet adequately addressed. Regulatory frameworks focused on sustainability metrics must begin to incorporate welfare dimensions.