News from fair-fish: March 2024
"What are your overriding goals?" asks my chance acquaintance on the train. "I want fishes to be perceived as living beings and not as suppliers of protein," I reply. fair-fish was founded 27 years ago to give these supposedly silent animals a voice. Unimaginable 3 trillions of them give their lives every year - whether directly for human consumption or as food for other animals. Consumers, researchers, breeders, traders - everyone should show this fundamental respect. Both in industrial fishing, where they usually suffocate miserably, and in aquaculture, where they suffer - at least in the large industrial facilities - without any consideration for their natural needs. This is the focus of fair-fish's work: projects against fishes’ suffering in fishing and farming. Through research and communication.
Yours sincerely, Fausta Borsani, Executive Director fair-fish
Symposium
The freely accessible fair-fish database provides insights into the welfare of fishes and other aquatic animals in farming and fisheries. We recently presented our findings on the stunning and slaughtering of fishes at the symposium "Humanely ending the life of animals" in Bern, Switzerland. The fact is that humane slaughter protocols are only in place for a few species of farmed fishes. The biggest shortcoming in terms of animal welfare in fish farming and fishing concerns the end of the animal's life: the lack of stunning and slaughter in most cases. See: Volstorf, Jenny, Caroline Marques Maia, María J. Cabrera-Álvarez, and Sebastian Scholz (2024). Application of slaughter protocols for aquatic species in aquaculture . Poster for the conference "Humanely ending the life of animals" , 06-07 March 2024 in Bern/Switzerland
New report of Carefish/catch
The Carefish/catch project aims to improve standards for less animal suffering in fisheries. To this end, scientists are identifying suitable measures. The project consortium, of which fair-fish is a member, recently published recommendations for purse seine fishing. The most important: the immediate stunning of the fishes caught. Slaughter should take place while the animals are still unconscious, before sorting, by immersion in ice water (death by hypothermia) or storage on ice (death by suffocation and hypothermia). These measures lead to the best possible quality of meat, which is an additional motivation for the industry. However, further research and innovation is needed to implement stunning and slaughter. Download the report .
Summer Shoal
In 2023, we organised and held the fifth edition of the Summer Shoal. Also in 2024 there will be a meeting on the topic of fish welfare. This year, we will organise an online event. Dates and registration modalities will be communicated.
Do you know someone who might be interested in our work? Please forward this newsletter and invite your colleagues and friends to join us.
Register here.