Pre-slaughter handling significantly affects salmon welfare and meat quality, with welfare-positive stunning methods now available and being adopted across the industry.
Fish have nociceptive systems capable of processing painful stimuli, and pre-slaughter handling causes measurable stress responses. Crowding fish prior to slaughter elevates cortisol and causes hemorrhaging. The welfare case for effective stunning before slaughter is compelling: it eliminates the consciousness period during killing. Industry resistance has been economic - stunning equipment costs and potential product quality effects - but evidence shows welfare-positive methods are commercially viable.