Rapid and painless fish slaughter

FIAP profiwork fish stunner

When slaughtering fish in the EU, farmers or processors must apply the basic principle that governs the slaughter of terrestrial species, according to a report by the Aquaculture Advisory Council from 2017. This principle states that animals shall be spared any avoidable pain, distress or suffering during their killing and related operations. Fish should therefore be slaughtered using humane methods as far as possible. The report goes on to list systems with the potential to deliver humane slaughter, one of which is electrical stunning followed, if necessary, by a separate killing method.

This article was featured in EUROFISH Magazine 6/2019.

The FIAP profiwork fish stunner is a robust and low-maintenance device for stunning and killing farmed fish. The current delivered by the device can be adjusted digitally depending on the fish size, weight, number, and conductivity of the water, among other factors. Tissue bleeding can be prevented by setting the current at the appropriate level. In contrast to models with grid electrodes, the stunner’s plate electrode guarantees a uniform electric field, which stuns or kills the fish depending on the strength of the field. In FIAP’s profiwork fish stunner a setting between 1 and 4 serves to stun the fish, while a setting of between 5 and 9 kills the fish. The stunning time is set by default at 90 seconds.

The device is sold ready for use and is available in three sizes. The package includes a container, a digital control unit, and a contact switch for the container lid. The profiwork fish stunner allows fast and painless killing of fish in accordance with legal requirements for animal welfare.

More in this category: « Increasing demands for fish welfare Concerns about aquaculture are often unfounded »