The pre-slaughter period in salmon farming involves crowding, crowding stress, and handling that significantly compromise welfare, and evidence-based improvements can substantially reduce suffering.
Pre-slaughter salmon welfare is one of the highest-impact areas for improving fish welfare at scale because the cumulative suffering across millions of fish is concentrated into the final hours of their lives. The welfare of individual salmon in the pre-slaughter period — crowded, handled, exposed to air, and ultimately killed — represents the most acute suffering they experience. Industry motivation to address this exists because stress before slaughter reduces meat quality, creating economic alignment between welfare improvement and production economics. This convergence of welfare and economic interests should accelerate adoption of humane slaughter practices.