Electro-Immobilisation and Fish Welfare: An Investigation into Stress, Consciousness, and Physiological Aspects During Slaughter

ABSTRACT

The aquaculture industry frequently employs various slaughter methods that subject fish to inhumane conditions, resulting in significant suffering. This study examined the effects of electrical method on the welfare of farmed fish (Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi) compared to air asphyxiation. Fish captured with electricity exhibited calm behavior until death, in contrast to fish treated with air asphyxiation, which exhibited violent responses within 4 minutes of capture. The electrical method achieved a complete state of unconsciousness 7 minutes faster than air asphyxiation. Our results show that air asphyxiation raised cortisol levels more than the electrical method, with no significant difference in glucose and lactate concentrations. Electrically treated fish had higher superoxide dismutase and liver-reduced glutathione levels, while suffocated fish showed elevated GSH and liver catalase levels. Radiographs revealed no fractures or skeletal changes. Electrical stunning had no effect on gill tissue, but caused brain tissue hemorrhage, whereas air asphyxiation caused less damage. Air asphyxiation caused gill tissue issues but less brain damage. Consciousness loss is crucial for humane practices. Specific electrical currents (110V for 30s) could improve aquaculture and fish welfare.

KEYWORDS:

• Bioethics
• brain function
• electro-immobilization
• fish welfare
• humane slaughter

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Khorramshahr University of Marine Science and Technology for their partial financial support to carry out this research work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contributions

MAD: Experiment performing, Investigation, Data curation, Visualization, Writing – original draft. MK: Conceptualization, Methodology, Funding acquisition, Supervision. SMM: Histopathological interpretations, Radiological assay, Supervision. SB: Software, Data curation, Visualization. NM: Validation, Writing – review & editing, and Supervision.

Authors’ declaration

The authors of this article have thoroughly examined and authorized the conclusive draft of the manuscript being submitted. We confirm that the material presented in this article is our own original work and is not under concurrent review for publication elsewhere.

Ethical statement

This research has been granted ethical approval by the Research Office of Khorramshahr University of Marine Science and Technology (Iran).

Additional information

Funding

This research was financially supported by the Khorramshahr University of Marine Science and Technology.