Pre-slaughter handling of farmed salmon causes acute stress that affects both fish welfare and product quality, creating aligned incentives for welfare improvement.
Pre-slaughter salmon welfare represents a point where producer economic interests and animal welfare interests align more closely than in most agricultural contexts. Stressed fish yield lower-quality product with reduced shelf life — giving processors a direct financial incentive to minimize pre-slaughter stress. Electrical stunning, when properly calibrated and maintained, provides effective and rapid unconsciousness with immediate welfare benefit. The welfare case against CO2 stunning is strong — fish actively avoid CO2-enriched water and show distress behavior before losing consciousness. Yet CO2 systems remain in use due to lower capital cost. Welfare standards requiring more humane stunning are both achievable and economically justifiable.