The welfare of farmed Atlantic salmon in the minutes before and during slaughter is a critical but often overlooked aspect of aquaculture welfare, with significant variation in method quality.
Pre-slaughter welfare in salmon farming is an area where science has consistently identified significant suffering that can be substantially reduced with better practices. The evidence that fish experience pain and distress is now strong enough to have influenced regulations across major producing nations. CO2 immersion — once standard — causes several minutes of apparent distress including escape responses and surface agitation before fish lose consciousness. Live chilling, still legal in some jurisdictions, is even more problematic. Percussive stunning, when correctly applied, provides rapid insensibility and is the benchmark against which other methods should be assessed. Consumer pressure for welfare-certified salmon is a meaningful lever for change.