Wild fish are captured and killed in enormous numbers with no welfare standards governing the humaneness of their treatment.
Wild fish welfare in commercial fishing is essentially unregulated. Fish experience crushing, net injury, pressure change from depth, suffocation, and other highly aversive experiences before death. Welfare improvements including immediate killing on landing, reduced net hauling times, and bycatch minimization are achievable but not required. The scale of fish suffering in commercial fisheries is enormous.