Farm Animal Welfare

Farmed Salmon Pre-Harvest Crowding Advanced

Pre-harvest crowding of farmed salmon causes acute stress and welfare harm; management protocols can reduce but not eliminate this welfare impact.

Key Facts

Salmon are crowded together using nets before harvesting to facilitate catching
Pre-harvest crowding causes elevated cortisol, oxygen depletion, and physical injury
Crowding duration and timing affect welfare impact; overnight crowding is particularly harmful
Rapid harvesting following crowding minimises duration of stress
Wellboat transport can provide better welfare conditions than repeated crowding in net pens

Welfare Considerations

Pre-harvest crowding is an unavoidable stressor in current salmon production systems; minimising duration, timing relative to feeding, and using trained staff reduces but cannot eliminate welfare harm.

What You Can Do

Support salmon certification standards that include pre-harvest handling protocols
Advocate for welfare monitoring at harvest as part of slaughterhouse inspection
Choose salmon producers with documented welfare-focused harvest protocols