Aquatic Animals

Fish Welfare at Harvest

The welfare of fish at harvest is the largest scale welfare issue in food production by number of individuals.

Key Facts

An estimated 1-2 trillion fish are killed in commercial fisheries annually
Wild fish caught in nets die by asphyxiation — a slow process taking minutes to hours
Aquaculture slaughter methods vary enormously — stunning before killing is best practice
The Marine Stewardship Council does not yet require fish welfare standards at harvest

Welfare Considerations

Fish deaths by asphyxiation in fishing nets represent one of the largest sources of preventable suffering in food production. The suffering is distributed across an enormous number of sentient animals. Even modest improvements to harvest welfare — through rapid killing methods — would affect welfare outcomes at a scale dwarfing improvements to mammalian or poultry farming. Fish welfare at harvest deserves far greater scientific and policy attention.

What You Can Do

Support development of welfare standards for wild catch fisheries
Choose aquaculture products certified to effective stunning standards
Advocate for fish welfare requirements in seafood certification schemes
Support research into fish harvest welfare at scale