Aquaculture Welfare

Farmed Salmon Pre-Harvest Stress Welfare

The period immediately before harvest causes intense stress for farmed salmon through crowding, starvation, and handling, requiring welfare-conscious management.

Key Facts

Pre-harvest starvation typically lasts 1-5 days to empty gut contents for meat quality
Crowding during harvest concentrates fish and increases competition for oxygen
Underwater camera systems can monitor crowding stress and fish behavior during harvest
Some producers use carbon dioxide to sedate fish before pumping to slaughter
Capture, crowding, and transport cause cortisol spikes 10-fold above resting levels

Welfare Considerations

Pre-harvest management represents the final welfare event in a salmon's life and should minimize suffering. Reducing starvation time, ensuring adequate oxygen during crowding, and using effective stunning at slaughter protect welfare in the critical final hours.

What You Can Do

Support certification requiring maximum starvation duration limits pre-harvest
Advocate for mandatory effective stunning before slaughter for farmed fish
Choose certified salmon from producers demonstrating humane harvest protocols