Addressing welfare challenges for carp, the most farmed fish in the world by volume.
Carp welfare receives far less attention than salmon despite their vastly greater production volumes. The welfare gap reflects both the lower economic profile of carp farming and the lower conservation concern status of common carp. Fish welfare principles apply equally: carp experience stress from crowding, poor water quality, and aversive handling, and they deserve humane slaughter regardless of production scale. Improving carp welfare requires applying the same evidence-based standards to the most numerous farmed fish as to the most commercially prestigious species.