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Revision as of 11:19, 13 February 2014 by Brian Tomasik (talk | contribs) (→Potentially more humane methods)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Fish slaughter is the process of killing fish, typically after harvesting at sea or from fish farms.
Numbers
fishcount.org.uk
Welfare indicators
Research on fish suffering during slaughter relies on measures to indicate when fish are conscious and experiencing pain. Some indicators used by welfare studies include
- Behavior
- Swimming, gill movement, eye movement in response to body reorientation, reaction when turned upside down, etc.
- Electrical measures
- EEG, ECG, evoked responses, etc.
- These are quite accurate but also require high levels of expertise.
- Haematic measures
- Cortisol, plasma glucose, plasma lactate, haematocrit, etc.
- Tissue measures
- Indicators of stress in the muscle tissue, like lactic acid, pH, and the catabolites of ATP.
- These indicators typically also correlate with lower-quality meat.
Inhumane methods
Air asphyxiation
Ice bath
CO2 narcosis
Potentially more humane methods
Percussive stunning
Also known as knocking, percussive stunning involves hitting the fish's head with a wooden or plastic club, called a priest. One or two blows done well can disrupt the brain sufficiently to render the fish unconscious and potentially even kill it directly. However, applying this method properly requires skill and training.
Spiking
Electrical stunning
Current research
Regulations
- UK law?
- EFSA
Notes
- Poli, B.M. (2005). "Fish welfare and quality as affected by pre-slaughter and slaughter management". Aquaculture International. 13: 29–49.
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