Aquatic Animals

Salmon Stunning at Harvest: Methods and Welfare Standards

Harvest methods for salmon affect welfare at the moment of death; electrical and percussive stunning offer more humane alternatives to live chilling.

Key Facts

Live chilling in ice slurry causes prolonged consciousness and distress
Electrical stunning renders salmon unconscious in under one second
Percussive stunning is effective for salmon if correctly applied
Norway and the UK require effective stunning before salmon killing

Welfare Considerations

The welfare at the moment of death is the final, irreducible welfare question for farmed fish. Live chilling, which is still commonly used in global salmon processing, causes prolonged distress as fish lose thermoregulatory ability. Electrical stunning systems are available at commercial scale and effectively eliminate consciousness before killing. Consumer and regulatory pressure in leading markets is driving adoption.

What You Can Do

Choose salmon from operations with certified effective pre-slaughter stunning
Advocate for mandatory pre-slaughter stunning in aquaculture regulation
Support consumer campaigns pressuring supermarkets on salmon slaughter welfare
Reduce consumption of salmon from operations without stunning certification