Humane slaughter of farmed fish requires effective pre-slaughter stunning to ensure unconsciousness before death, but many commercial fish slaughter methods leave fish conscious during killing, representing a significant and correctable welfare failure.
Fish slaughter welfare represents one of the largest-scale welfare problems in global food production, measured by the number of individual animals affected. Fish pain science has advanced to the point where the scientific consensus supports the conclusion that fish are capable of experiencing pain and distress, making conscious slaughter by asphyxiation, CO2 immersion, or live chilling ethically unacceptable in the same way that analogous practices would be unacceptable for mammals. The welfare gap between current practice and achievable standards is significant: effective stunning technology exists and is economically viable, as demonstrated by Norwegian mandatory stunning regulations for salmon. The barriers to adoption are primarily regulatory and economic inertia rather than technical feasibility. Consumer awareness, retailer procurement requirements, and regulatory mandates all have roles in driving the transition to humane fish slaughter across the global aquaculture sector.