Handling stress in farmed fish occurs throughout the production cycle during grading, vaccination, and harvest. Minimizing handling frequency and improving techniques significantly reduces welfare costs.
Handling stress in farmed fish is cumulative and pervasive throughout the production cycle. Minimizing unnecessary handling, reducing crowding duration before procedures, using anesthetics where appropriate, and maintaining good water quality during and after handling all reduce welfare costs. Fish handling welfare requires treating each handling event as a welfare cost to be minimized rather than an unavoidable routine.