Effective pre-slaughter stunning of farmed Atlantic salmon is critical for welfare and is increasingly required by legislation and certification schemes as the fish welfare evidence base grows.
Atlantic salmon are sentient fish capable of experiencing pain and stress, and the manner of their slaughter has significant welfare implications across billions of individual animals each year. Pre-slaughter stunning that renders fish unconscious before the killing procedure eliminates the experience of the slaughter process itself. The welfare science supporting mandatory salmon stunning is now robust, and regulatory requirements in Norway, the UK, and EU are progressively standardizing practices that were inconsistent just a decade ago.