Stunning technology for fish slaughter has advanced significantly, with electrical, percussion, and CO2 methods now available for different species and production contexts.
Fish stunning technology has reached a point where humane slaughter is technically feasible for the major commercial aquaculture species. Electrical stunning for salmonids, percussion for larger fish in accessible harvest settings, and emerging technologies for smaller species together cover most of the aquaculture production base. The primary barriers are not technological but economic and regulatory: stunning equipment costs money, and regulatory requirements to use it do not yet exist in most jurisdictions. Welfare certification schemes that require pre-slaughter stunning — combined with equipment subsidy programs for smaller producers — are the most effective pathways to widespread adoption.