Aquatic Animals

Wild Fish Harvest Welfare

Wild-caught fish experience significant suffering during commercial fishing operations, yet welfare considerations receive almost no attention in fisheries management.

Key Facts

Commercial fishing kills approximately one trillion fish annually
Wild fish experience stress, physical injury, and prolonged death during capture
Decompression injuries affect deep-water fish hauled rapidly to the surface
Fish welfare is virtually absent from fisheries management and certification standards

Welfare Considerations

Wild-caught fish experience fear and pain during capture in nets, stress from crowding in catch containers, and often prolonged deaths from asphyxiation, crushing, or evisceration while conscious. As animals capable of pain, the suffering of the estimated one trillion wild fish caught annually represents a massive welfare issue largely invisible to consumers and regulators.

What You Can Do

Support inclusion of welfare criteria in seafood sustainability certifications
Advocate for research into humane wild fish harvesting methods
Reduce fish consumption or choose fish caught with lower bycatch methods
Support development of welfare standards for wild fish harvest