The hours immediately before slaughter are a critical welfare period for farmed salmon. Crowding, temperature changes, and handling cause measurable stress that humane slaughter reforms can reduce.
The welfare of salmon in the pre-slaughter period reflects the entire ethical challenge of intensive aquaculture: scale, speed, and cost pressures conflict with the welfare needs of individual sentient animals. Each stage of the harvest process - crowding, pumping, transport, lairage - adds stress on top of stress. Minimizing time between pen and stunning, maintaining adequate oxygen, and reducing physical injury from pump equipment are all achievable with current technology. Certification schemes that audit pre-slaughter processes alongside stunning compliance provide the most comprehensive welfare assurance.