How are the fish slaughtered, prior to processing?
Farmed fish and shellfish have to be harvested and prepared for the consumer market. The two primary issues to consider are: Animal welfare – the fish must be treated in an appropriate manner; this involves avoidance of animal suffering and minimizing slaughter time. Quality preservation – there must be an adequate slaughtering process in order to prevent long-term stress response from the animal. It is generally considered that the best quality flesh is that which is consumed within the first hours post mortem. Nevertheless, after catching, the fish begins to stiffen; this event is called rigor mortis. The fresh flesh that is in rigor mortis state, is difficult to fillet and process, and is not suitable for smoking. Handling operations prior to slaughter should be done with care and minimizing stress. Prior to slaughter, fish are not fed. The reason for this to be done is to improve conditions for the fish during the period before slaughtering. Given the diversity of slaughtering meth
