Optimisation of harvest procedures of farmed fish

with respect to quality and welfare

Shared cost EU-research project

Coordinator: Dr . J.W. van de Vis; RIVO, Haringkade 1; PO Box 68;

1970 IJmuiden; The Netherlands Tel.: +.31 255 564613;
Fax.: +.31 255 56 4644; e-mail: hans@rivo.dlo.nl

Sub-Participant of RIVO: Research institute for Animal Science and Health (ID-Lelystad),
PO Box 65,
8200 AB Lelystad. Tel +31 320-238970; Fax +31 320 238050.
E-mail: e.lambooij@id.wag-ur.nl

Introduction

Food quality is increasingly perceived by the public as a global concept. Food should be safe,
tasty and healthy. However, ethical aspects concerning food production, such as protection of
the environment and animal welfare, are also of importance. Although concerns about animal
welfare apply primarily to mammals and birds, fish welfare, including at the time of slaughter, is
gaining interest. A slaughter method is considered to be humane when unconsciousness is
induced immediately by stunning and lasts until death. When stunning is not immediate it should
be applied without avoidable stress.

The objectives of the research were the optimisation of slaughter processes of cultivated fish with
respect to welfare and product quality and the application of optimal procedures on pilot scale.
The study was undertaken on eel (Anguilla anguilla), gilt-head seabream (Sparus aurata) and
Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). The project was divided into three tasks:

1. Inventory of industrial slaughter methods and their effects on eating and keeping
quality. Standardisation of methods to evaluate effects of slaughter on welfare and quality.

2. Comparison of industrial and experimental methods with respect to welfare and quality.
Selection of optimal methods for further investigation in task 3.

3. Automation of optimum slaughter, which includes:

- Orientate or convey fish to a device for stunning
- Evaluate automated slaughter methods with respect to welfare and quality.

Results

The inventory of commercial slaughter methods revealed a wide variety of techniques

between and within fish species. Atlantic salmon are slaughtered by either a gill cut without prior
stunning, carbon dioxide narcosis followed by a gill cut, percussive stunning with a manually
applied club followed by a gill cut, or live chilling followed by a gill cut. Gilt-head seabream are
slaughtered by live chilling. Eel are slaughtered in the Netherlands by the so-called salt bath, in
which fishes are deslimed in dry salt for approximately 20 minutes, before gutting. Another
industrial method consists of live chilling before gutting. In Germany, eel are electrically stunned
in water prior to desliming and gutting.

Following the inventory study, it was necessary to develop standardised protocols to assess
slaughter methods by observation of behaviour and evaluation of flesh quality. A protocol
designed to assess fish behaviour at slaughter was used successfully by all participants in the
project. It included several types of indicators such responses to stimuli and monitoring of self-
initiated behaviour. A standardised protocol to evaluate fish quality was also established.
Monitored quality parameters, chosen for their importance in terms of consumers and industry
acceptability, were for example liquid-holding capacity, texture, rigor mortis, colour, compositional
analysis and sensory properties.

After all preliminary work had been completed, commercial and experimental slaughter
methods were evaluated with respect to welfare and product quality.

For a sound evaluation of welfare aspects it is required to assess the state and duration of
unconsciousness in fish by registration of the electro-encephalogram (EEG) and evoked
responses on the EEG. The observation of behaviour without validation by registration of EEGs is
not sufficient for assessment of unconsciousness, as for instance ineffective electrical stunning
can be very painful and paralysis may occur without loss of consciousness. During the trials the
protocol to assess fish behaviour was validated by electro-encephalographic measurements of
brain function (EEG).

As regards welfare, the majority of the commercial methods were found to be unsatisfactory as
fishes were not rendered unconscious immediately. Furthermore, animals exhibited aversive
behaviour such as vigorous escape attempts. The list of such methods is as follows: carbon
dioxide narcosis and gill cutting only (salmon), live chilling (salmon, seabream and eel) and the
use of dry salt for desliming (eel). Electrical stunning following conditions prescribed by the
German legislation was observed to be ineffective for eel, as the animals were not rendered
unconscious immediately. The fishes were motionless due to exhaustion after 5 min electrical
stunning.
In contrast, the following methods were found to be humane if applied properly. This is the case
for electrical stunning (salmon, seabream, eel), percussive stunning (salmon and seabream) and
spiking. However, specific precautions are necessary for each method. Thus, minimal currents
have been defined for each species, in order to achieve an immediate loss of consciousnesss by
electrical stunning. In order to achieve an irrecoverable stun of eel, oxygen had to be removed
during the application of the current. For electrical stunning it is also recommended that the
electrodes should cover the bottom and the surface or the opposite walls of the tank completely
to obtain a homogeneous electrical field. As to percussive stunning, a pneumatic automated
device should always be preferred to a manually applied club, since the latter generates fatigue
and can lead to unprecise or unsufficiently strong blows. Finally, spiking of the brain requires a
high level of precision and expertise. Moreover, it is possible that parts of the brains which were
not destroyed continue to function after the shot. Spiking is therefore probably not feasible for
humane slaughter in industry

As regards quality of fish flesh, findings varied considerably according to the species and
methods studied. For salmon and seabream, little differences in quality were measured between
the humane alternative slaughter methods and the commercial methods. It is possible that stress
prior to slaughter (for example, crowding and towing seabream in a net for two hours across the
pond) masked partly the effect of otherwise humane slaughter procedures. In the case of eel, it
was established that electrical stunning in combination with oxygen removal could improve the
quality of the smoked flesh. The application of a 50 Hz a.c. current did not cause downgrading of
the product.
Out of all the methods complying with welfare and quality requirements, a few were selected for
further thorough evaluation, based on practical issues. For all fish species it was established
that spiking may not be feasible for industry. Similarly, percussive stunning of seabream and eel
were too time-consuming. Moreover, percussive stunning could damage the heads of the latter
species, which is not acceptable for industry. Finally, two humane methods currently under
industrial development were selected for salmon (percussive stunning and electrical stunning).
For seabream and eel, electrical stunning was selected.

Conveying and positioning individual fish towards a slaughter automated process is not
adapted to relatively small fish. For this reason, no apparatus was evaluated for seabream and
eel. In contrast, a commercial stunning apparatus (Salmo stunner) was tested at two commercial
salmon companies. The Salmo stunner uses percussive stunning followed by a cut across the
gills. The tests revealed that the equipment is delivering enough power to repeatably stun without
allowing recovery of fish of up to 6 kg live weight. The optimal hammer shape is a round hammer,
which after some adjustments is suitable for commercial slaughter. Some modifications to the
trigger and head supporting mechanisms are required to ensure an optimal stun rate. The limiting
step to the machine at present is the method of feeding the fish into the machine.

Discussion-Conclusion

In the last step of the project, automated slaughter methods were evaluated. The main
conclusions are as follows.

For salmon, automated percussion is feasible for the industry. Lactate analysis revealed
that the fish had less muscular activity at percussive stunning than when carbon dioxide
was used. However, crowding of the salmon prior to stunning is stressful for the animals.
It is possible that minimising the crowd times could improve the quality of the fish flesh.

Electrical stunning of salmon is a humane method, when performed properly. However,

blood spots along the vertebrae were more frequently found in the electrostunned group
than in otherwise stunned/killed fish. It is likely that the blood spots occurred due the
frequency (50 Hz a.c.) of the current used. Studies showed that the occurrence of
bloodspots can be prevented. Further work should therefore be performed in order to
determine the optimal electrical conditions for salmon.

Electrical stunning of seabream is also a humane method, when performed properly.

Nevertheless, the method did not improve quality compared with the current industrial method
(immersion in ice water). It is possible that the expected improvement in quality was masked by
the highly stressful harvest.

As to eel, using electricity in combination with nitrogen gas can provoke unconsciousness
immediately and until death. A preliminary trial revealed that this procedure can be used for
batches of eels. This implies that it is suitable for humane slaughter in practice. A study of the
smoked flesh revealed that quality was improved by application of the humane method compared
to application of the salt bath followed by gutting.

To summarize:
• Humane slaughter of farmed fish is possible for industry. Percussive stunning is the preferred
method
• Fish flesh quality may be improved or is similar to that obtained by current slaughter methods
• Methods for assessment of welfare aspects of slaughter methods were observed to be
effective

Scientific papers published in or accepted for publication in refereed journals or books during
the project are listed below.

Huidobro, A., Pastor, A., López Caballero, E.; Tejada, M. (2000): Washing effect on the quality
index method (QIM) developed for raw gilt-head seabream (Sparus aurata). Eur. Food Res.
Technol., 212, 408-412.

Huidobro, A.; Pastor, A.; Tejada, M. (2000): Quality index method development for raw gilt-head
seabream (Sparus aurata). J. Food Sci.,65(6), 1202-1205.

Huidobro, A., Pastor, A., Tejada, M. (2001): Adenosine triphosphate and derivatives as freshness
indicators in gilt-head seabream (Sparus aurata). J. Food Sci. Tech. Int., 7(1), 23-30.

Huidobro, A., Pastor, A., Tejada, M (2001): Stability of muscle proteins in gilt-head seabream
(Sparus aurata) during refrigerated storage. Proceedings West European Fish Technologists’
Association Meeting, Faroe Islands, June 2000, pp. 121-126.

Kestin, S.C., Van de Vis, J.W. and Robb, D.F.H. (2002): A simple protocol for assessing brain
function in fish and the effectiveness of stunning and killing methods used on fish. Accepted for
publication in Vet. Rec. 150, 302-307

Kestin, S.C. and Warris, P. D. (editors) (2001): Farmed Fish Quality. Blackwell, Oxford, UK, 430
pp.

Kuhlmann, H., Münkner, W., Oehlenschläger, J. and Van de Vis, J.W. (2001): Zum
tierschutzgerechten Betäuben von Aal. Inf. Fishwirtsch. Fischereiforsch., 48(2), 82-89.

Kuhlmann, H., Münkner, W., Van de Vis, J.W., Oehlenschläger, J. and Koch, M. (2000):
Untersuchungen zur anästhesierenden Wirkung von Aqui-S und chemisch verwandten
Verbindungen beim Aal (Anguilla anguilla). Archive für Lebensmittelhygiene 51, 57-60.

Lambooij, E., Van de Vis, J.W., Kloosterboer, R.J. and Pieterse, C. (2002): Evaluation of head-
only stunning and head to tail electrical stunning of farmed eels (Anguilla anguilla, L.) for
development of a humane slaughter method. Aquacult. Res., 33, 323-331.

Lambooij, E., Van de Vis, J.W. Kloosterboer, R.J. and Pieterse, C. (2002): Welfare aspects of live
chilling and freezing of eel (Anguilla anguilla L.): behavioural and neural assessment. Aquaculture
in press.

Lambooij, E., Van de Vis, J.W. Kloosterboer, R.J. and Pieterse, C. (2002): Mechanical stunning of
eel (Anguilla anguilla L.). Aquaculture in press.

Lambooij, E., Van de Vis, J.W., Kuhlmann, H., Münkner, W., Oehlenschläger, J., Kloosterboer,
R.J. and Pieterse, C. (2002) A feasible method for humane slaughter of eel (Anguilla anguilla,
L.): stunning in fresh water prior to gutting. Aquacult. Res in press.
Robb, D.F.H (2001): The relationship between killing methods and quality. In Farmed Fish
Quality, (eds. S.C. Kestin and P.D. Warriss), Blackwell, Oxford, UK, pp. 220-233.

Robb, D.H.F., Wotton, S.B., McKinstry, J.L., Sorensen, N.K. and Kestin S.C. (2000): Commercial
slaughter methods used on Atlantic salmon: determination of the onset of brain failure by
electroencephalography. Vet. Rec., 147, 298-303.

Robb, D.H.F., Wotton, S.B. and Van de Vis, J.W. (2002): Pre-slaughter electrical stunning of eels.
Aquacult. Res., 33, 37-42.

Van de Vis, J.W. (1999): Stunning and killing of fish (in Dutch). In: Welfare of fish (eds. A.P.J.
Raat and R. van den Bos), Tilburg University Press, Tilburg, The Netherlands, pp. 147-154.

Van de Vis, J.W., Lambooij, E., Pieterse, C. and Kloosterboer, R.J (2001).: A method to assess
unconsciousness and insensibility in eel (Anguilla anguilla, L.) for development of humane
slaughter methods. Proceedings West European Fish Technologists’ Association Meeting, Faroe
Islands, June 2000, pp. 181-186.

Van de Vis, J. W., Oehlenschläger, J., Kuhlmann, H., Münkner, W., Robb, D.F.H., and Schelvis-
Smit, A.A.M. (2001): Commercial and experimental slaughter of eel (Anguilla anguilla, L.): effect
on quality and welfare. In Farmed Fish Quality, Blackwell, Oxford, UK, pp. 234-257.

Vis, J.W. van de, Schelvis-Smit, Kloosterboer, R.J., Lambooij, E., en Pieterse, C., 2001. Method
and device for stunning of aquatic organisms. Dutch patent application No 1015306 and Patent
Cooperation Treaty WO 01/95732.
FFI Handling the Harvest

New Auto Stunning System: Humane and Efficient

Harvest is now recognised as the first and most critical stage of processing and
marketing. In addition, the ethical aspects concerning food production, such as
protection of the environment and animal welfare, have been identified as important
issues to consumers.

Fish welfare at slaughter is of special importance as this has potential to cause significant,
stress, pain and suffering to the fish and can also have the largest potential impact on
textural quality, colour, appearance and shelf-life and differences are clear when farmers
compare stressful practices with humane techniques.

Most processors and retailers are very aware of the benefits of good welfare at harvest,
both in terms of quality and marketability.

A slaughter method is considered to be humane when unconsciousness is induced

immediately by stunning and is irrecoverable.

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methods of slaughtering animals. Seafood Innovations have been developing and
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