Channel catfish are the most farmed fish species in the USA, produced in large earthen ponds with welfare challenges related to disease, handling, and slaughter methods.
US catfish aquaculture welfare sits in the same gap as many lower-value farmed fish species: limited research, weak certification, and low consumer awareness create conditions where welfare is consistently deprioritised. The earthen pond production system does offer some advantages over intensive tank systems - less crowding stress under good management and more natural conditions - but summer oxygen depletion events cause mass mortality that represents an acute welfare crisis. Improving disease management, preventing oxygen depletion through monitoring and aeration, and adopting more humane slaughter methods are achievable welfare improvements that await market and regulatory pressure to drive adoption.