Innovation Raising the Bar for Animal Welfare in Seafood
The modern seafood sector is being transformed by a remarkable new wave of innovation—not just in what we eat, but in how we treat the animals that feed us. A recent example making waves comes from the UK’s scampi/langoustine (nephrops) industry, where a coalition of fishers, processors, retailers, and scientists have come together to address animal welfare head-on with a groundbreaking on-board stunning and tailing machine.
UK Scampi Industry Leads with Humane On-Board Technology
Traditionally, crews managed nephrops, removing tails by hand—stressful for both animal and humans and increasingly at odds with evolving animal welfare laws. Now, thanks to collaborative R&D led by Fisheries Innovation & Sustainability (FIS) and technology company Optimar, the sector is trialing an on-board machine that electrically stuns and tails nephrops using laser-guided precision.
This automation means a major leap in humane practice. It also improves crew safety, productivity, and yield, and could enable new zero-waste business models by collecting shells for further processing (chitin – a valuable natural product used in medical and industrial processes). If trials succeed, this machine will be available to UK fishing vessels as soon as next year, helping them meet new welfare standards and maintain access to high-value markets demanding proof of ethical practices.
Beyond the UK: Animal Welfare Innovations Worldwide
The seafood industry globally is recognizing that animal welfare is not just an ethical imperative; it is also critical to product quality, worker wellbeing, and market reputation. Here are other exciting advances:
- Humane Harvesting Systems in Aquaculture: Automated Ike-Jimi machines, increasingly used in salmon, yellowtail kingfish, and other high-value farmed fish, induce instant unconsciousness, reducing stress and improving meat quality by limiting rigor mortis and undesirable flavors.
- Onboard Water Quality and Live Storage Systems: Modern wild-capture vessels now use sophisticated tank systems to minimize stress, injury, and suffocation in live-caught crabs, lobsters, and shellfish, improving both survivability and ethical handling.
- Innovative Sea Lice and Health Solutions: In aquaculture, addressing parasite burdens without chemical treatment using cleaner fish or advanced non-invasive mechanical delousing—improves both fish health and welfare.
- Welfare Certification and Auditing: The rise of third-party certification schemes is pushing producers toward best-practice handling, slaughter, and transport protocols, with increasing transparency to the end consumer. Whilst this can be positive those schemes should also be investing in research into alternative solutions.
Why This Matters ?
As more global markets—and socially conscious consumers—demand assurance that seafood is sourced humanely, these innovations are more than technical upgrades: they are passports to trust and market access. Research has shown that improving welfare standards has other benefits like enhancing product quality, reducing waste, and building resilience in fishing communities.
The SCA Perspective
At the Seafood Consumers Association, we champion innovations that protect seafood workers, animal welfare, and consumer confidence. We urge industry and policymakers to invest in these humane technologies and support further research—because raising standards at sea benefits everyone from ocean-to-plate.
Animal welfare in seafood is not just a trend. It is a responsibility—one that can bring better food, healthier oceans, and safer, more dignified work for people in the seafood supply chain.
References
- https://en.seafood.no/globalassets/markedsinnsikt/apne-rapporter/top-seafood-trends-2024-final.pdf?sectorId=0
- https://munin.uit.no/bitstream/10037/31788/2/article.pdf
- https://www.globalseafood.org/advocate/responsible-seafood-innovation-awards-finalist-the-on-board-innovation-set-to-improve-animal-welfare-and-life-on-deck-for-the-u-k-scampi-industry/