Executive summary: Implementing electrical stunning before slaughter in Mediterranean sea bass and sea bream aquaculture can significantly improve fish welfare, but progress varies by country and faces technical and economic challenges.
Key points:
Sea bass and sea bream are mostly farmed in sea cages in Türkiye, Greece, Spain, and Italy, with varying farm sizes and distances from shore.
Electrical stunning renders fish immediately unconscious before slaughter, greatly reducing suffering compared to the common method of live chilling in ice.
Uptake of electrical stunning is promising in Spain, Greece, and Türkiye, but negligible in Italy so far. Key challenges include installation on harvest vessels and investment costs.
Larger aquaculture companies can more easily adopt stunning, while smaller farms may need financial support, e.g. from the European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund.
Differences in farm locations, vessel types, and fish sizes pose engineering challenges that vary by country. Stunning may speed up or slow down harvesting.
Increasing demand from retailers and potential EU legislation mandating stunning could accelerate progress, following trends in other agricultural sectors.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, andcontact us if you have feedback.
Executive summary: Implementing electrical stunning before slaughter in Mediterranean sea bass and sea bream aquaculture can significantly improve fish welfare, but progress varies by country and faces technical and economic challenges.
Key points:
Sea bass and sea bream are mostly farmed in sea cages in Türkiye, Greece, Spain, and Italy, with varying farm sizes and distances from shore.
Electrical stunning renders fish immediately unconscious before slaughter, greatly reducing suffering compared to the common method of live chilling in ice.
Uptake of electrical stunning is promising in Spain, Greece, and Türkiye, but negligible in Italy so far. Key challenges include installation on harvest vessels and investment costs.
Larger aquaculture companies can more easily adopt stunning, while smaller farms may need financial support, e.g. from the European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund.
Differences in farm locations, vessel types, and fish sizes pose engineering challenges that vary by country. Stunning may speed up or slow down harvesting.
Increasing demand from retailers and potential EU legislation mandating stunning could accelerate progress, following trends in other agricultural sectors.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.