Pre-slaughter handling and stunning of Atlantic salmon is a critical welfare point affecting millions of fish, with significant variation in practice across producing countries.
Salmon pre-slaughter welfare is one of the most practically tractable welfare improvements in aquaculture. The difference between electrical stunning and live chilling or CO2 exposure represents a large welfare gap achievable through technology adoption. Consumer demand for welfare-assured salmon and retailer commitments to only source from electrically stunned fish have driven adoption of better stunning methods in many producing countries. Ongoing monitoring and third-party verification of stunning effectiveness are necessary to ensure stated practices are actually implemented.