Tilapia is one of the most widely farmed fish globally, and improving slaughter practices is essential for welfare-conscious production.
Tilapia welfare at slaughter is largely invisible to consumers, yet the scale of production means the welfare of hundreds of millions of individual fish is at stake annually. The low price point of tilapia in global markets creates economic pressure to minimize processing costs, which often means slaughter practices remain basic or absent. Fish that are slaughtered without prior stunning remain conscious and responsive to pain for several minutes. A welfare-centered approach to tilapia production requires adopting percussive or electrical stunning as industry standard, reducing crowding and handling stress prior to harvest, and developing welfare certification programs accessible to farms in lower-income producing countries. Market demand for welfare-certified tilapia would accelerate industry improvement.