Fish in aquaculture sometimes require surgical procedures. Anesthesia and pain management are essential welfare considerations that are increasingly recognized.
Performing surgical and invasive procedures on fish without anesthesia causes significant stress and likely pain based on behavioral and physiological evidence. Historically, fish were assumed not to feel pain and procedures were performed without welfare consideration. Research over the past two decades has substantially shifted scientific consensus. Leading aquaculture nations including Norway now require anesthesia for many procedures. Implementing routine anesthesia use is both feasible and cost-effective compared to the stress-related production losses that procedures cause in unanesthetized fish.