Wild-caught salmon and other fish experience significant welfare challenges during capture, handling, and slaughter that are largely unaddressed by current regulations.
The scale of suffering in wild capture fisheries is almost incomprehensible. The combination of capture stress, asphyxiation slaughter, and bycatch mortality means that wild fish may represent the largest source of intentional animal suffering on Earth. Practical welfare improvements exist but require both regulatory mandates and consumer pressure to achieve adoption at scale.