The crowding and handling of salmon before slaughter causes acute stress that represents the final welfare insult in the production cycle, and can be significantly reduced through improved protocols.
Pre-slaughter handling represents a final, preventable welfare insult for farmed salmon. The crowding and pumping process concentrates fish beyond the point of comfortable density, causing oxygen depletion, physical crushing, and extreme stress responses. Fish pumped through pipes sustain scale loss and physical injuries. These acute welfare harms occur in the hours before slaughter and are demonstrably reducible through modified handling protocols, slower pumping rates, oxygen supplementation, and reduced crowding duration. The welfare case for improved pre-slaughter handling is reinforced by evidence that stress-compromised fish also have poorer flesh quality — a production incentive aligned with the welfare improvement.