Research into fish pain and sentience has advanced dramatically in recent decades, with growing scientific consensus that fish experience pain and that this should inform how we manage, farm and kill them.
The scientific evidence for fish pain and sentience has grown to the point where the precautionary principle demands that fish welfare be taken seriously across all contexts — aquaculture, sport fishing, the ornamental trade and wild capture fisheries. Fish experience chronic pain from parasites and injuries sustained during farming and catching. Slaughter methods vary enormously in their humaneness — percussive stunning followed by brain spiking is considered one of the most humane methods for larger fish, but is rarely used at commercial scale. The welfare implications of fish sentience research extend to billions of individuals annually and represent one of the most significant outstanding welfare challenges.