A landmark report1, and a peer-reviewed review paper2, together present the first comprehensive, science-based strategy to support the adoption of humane slaughter methods for wild-caught fish at scale.

Key findings from the report, published in May 2025 by the Humane Slaughter Association, include:

  • Most wild-caught fish are slaughtered without stunning, often dying slowly by suffocation, bleeding, or live processing, with some species remaining conscious for several minutes to hours.
  • Humane stunning methods exist, such as electrical or mechanical techniques, but are rarely used in wild-capture fisheries due to cost, logistics, and lack of regulatory requirements.
  • Scientific evidence confirms fish sentience and supports urgent reform to minimise suffering at slaughter.
  • Continuous-flow in-water electrical stunning, a method already used in aquaculture, shows strong potential for adaptation in wild-capture fisheries.
  • Significant knowledge gaps remain, particularly around species-specific stunning parameters and practical deployment in mixed-species or high-volume fisheries.
  • Humane stunning may support industry benefits such as maintaining or improving product quality, enhancing shelf life, reducing labour demands, and improving crew safety.

The proposed six-stage roadmap offers a structured, collaborative path for industry, policymakers, and technology developers to adopt humane slaughter practices.

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1. James KL, Amarasinghe US, Herath TK, Jayasuriya NS, Lines J, Sneddon LU and Randall NP 2025. Humane slaughter of wild-caught fish. Recommendations for improving the welfare of over 1 trillion fishes caught in the wild annually. Humane Slaughter Association. https://www.hsa.org.uk/downloads/hsa15403—humane-slaughter-of-wild-caught-fish—report-designweb4-(3).pdf .

2. James KL, Aparicio SP, Jayasuriya NS, Herath TK, Lines J, Sneddon LU, Amarasinghe US and Randall NP 2025. Humane stunning or stun/killing in the slaughter of wild-caught finfish: The scientific evidence base. Animal Welfare, 34, e33, 1–15 . https://doi.org/10.1017/awf.2023.30 .