Channel catfish are among the most commonly farmed fish in North America, with welfare considerations around crowding, water quality, handling, and slaughter requiring greater attention.
Catfish welfare in aquaculture is an emerging area of concern. While catfish have historically been considered less welfare-relevant than mammals, evidence of pain processing and stress responses requires that their welfare be taken seriously. Crowding during pond harvest causes acute stress, and oxygen depletion events that kill thousands of fish simultaneously cause suffering at enormous scale. Slaughter methods vary widely in humaneness. As awareness of fish sentience grows, applying welfare standards to catfish production - including improved water quality management, handling protocols, and humane slaughter - is both ethically appropriate and achievable.