Billions of mackerel and other pelagic fish are caught annually in industrial fisheries. Their welfare during capture, handling, and slaughter receives minimal attention despite growing evidence of fish sentience.
Wild-caught pelagic fish represent the largest single source of vertebrate suffering in the global food system, yet receive the least welfare attention of any farmed or wild animal. Billions of mackerel, herring, sardines, and anchovies die annually in conditions that would be unacceptable in any land animal context: suffocating in crowded nets, being crushed during hauling, or dying slowly on deck. The welfare case for these animals rests on the same scientific foundation as that for farmed fish: they have nociceptors, show pain avoidance behavior, and show physiological stress responses comparable to other vertebrates. Consumer awareness that fish welfare extends beyond farmed species to wild capture is an important frontier for the animal welfare movement.