The welfare of commercially caught fish during hauling, sorting, and slaughter depends heavily on the knowledge and practices of fishing crew, yet fish welfare training for fishers is rare in most countries.
The welfare of commercially caught fish is almost entirely determined by what happens from the moment of capture to death, and this period is almost entirely within the control of fishing crews. Most commercial fishing operations have no formal fish welfare training and no protocols for humane slaughter. Fish are routinely suffocated on deck, left in ice without stunning, or sorted and discarded while alive. The implementation of ice slurry chilling, percussive stunning, or electrical stunning protocols that are already standard in some premium seafood operations would substantially improve welfare outcomes for billions of fish annually. Training and economic incentives for adoption are the primary implementation barriers.