Pre-slaughter management in salmon farming is a critical welfare phase covering crowding during harvest, transportation, and stunning before killing — each step presenting specific welfare challenges.
Pre-slaughter welfare in salmon farming is the final welfare chapter and one receiving increasing attention. The crowding during harvest, prolonged fasting, and poorly implemented stunning represent some of the most significant welfare costs in the production cycle. CO2 stunning — once considered acceptable — is now recognized as causing distress from the acidic sensation before unconsciousness. Leading producers are transitioning to percussion or electrical stunning that achieves rapid unconsciousness. Fasting duration management, crowding density limits, and investment in quality stunning equipment are the primary welfare levers at the slaughter phase. Consumer and retailer demand for verified humane slaughter drives producer investment.