Ethical capture and killing methods in trawl fisheries

Limited focus has been placed on fish welfare and other ethical aspects of catching and killing processes for wild fish. For farmed fish, welfare requirements are included in laws and regulations, but for wild fish, the industry and government, probably for practical and economic reasons, has not prioritized animal welfare. Wild fish is included in the Norwegian Animal Welfare Act, and in 2014, the Norwegian Council for Animal Ethics gave the following advices for commercial fisheries; a) Strive to shorten the harvesting time, particularly the time fish are experiencing high levels of stress, fear or pain; b) There must be made more gentle handling and minimal damage in the capture time; c) The fish has to be stunned by electricity or percussion stunning, followed by killing by bleeding; d) Bycatch must as far as possible be reduced, e) Fish that have been in contact with the gears, but that does not get caught or released after capture, should be undamaged and physically able to survive afterwards. In response to this, this project has reflected on ethics and how to integrate ethics in the development of new technologies and methods, with the aim of improving fish welfare in some key phases and processes in trawl fisheries. Specifically, the project has established a framework for ethical assessment of new technology and evaluated a new trawl cod-end for improved fish welfare and stunning and killing methods. The ethical framework was established by a post doc in the project. The starting point for this work was interviews with key stakeholders in fisheries, such as fishermen, suppliers, government, and scientists. Several scientific publications have been prepared based on the outcome of this work and the interviews. A few variations of a new cod-end design have been tested at sea in 2018 and 2019. Several scientific papers on the effect on catch damages and selectivity have been published, where changes in the level of external catch damages is an indication of fish welfare in this section of the gear. A field study for stunning of live farmed cod has been conducted. The work included field tests with live farmed cod, studying the condition of fish before and after stunning. The work and results are reported in technical notes, and a scientific publication is planned if the results allow. The project has been a cooperation between two Norwegian and two Dutch research institutions; SINTEF and NTNU in Norway, and Utrecht University and Wageningen UR Livestock Research in the Netherlands.

Key outcomes are the contributions to the scientific literature and knowledge base in fisheries, and the international collaboration between research groups in ethics and fisheries technology. While catch quality, fish welfare and sustainability are often discussed, introducing ethical reflections offers a wider perspective and basis for discussing new innovations. The project results offer a better understanding of what ethics in fisheries may entail and how to apply it. The results have increased the competence in the project group and the involved institutions, and thus have a clear potential to influence future research and innovation projects where these institutions participate. The results are also disseminated to the industry and scientific community and may enhance the focus not only on fish welfare but also on ethics in fisheries. A key potential impact from the project increase the general awareness and level of ethical reflections with stakeholders as well as consumers.

As stated in the MARINFORSK Work program, limited focus has been placed on fish welfare and other ethical aspects of catching and killing processes for wild fish. Recent studies reveal that teleost fish have a capacity for mental awareness, and there is a growing concern for the welfare of fish. For farmed fish, welfare requirements are included in laws and regulations, but for wild fish, the industry and government, probably for practical and economic reasons, has not prioritized animal welfare. Wild fish is included in the Norwegian Animal Welfare Act, and in 2014, the Norwegian Council for Animal Ethics gave the following advices for commercial fisheries; a) Strive to shorten the harvesting time, particularly the time fish are experiencing high levels of stress, fear or pain; b) There must be made more gentle handling and minimal damage in the capture time; c) The fish has to be stunned by electricity or percussion stunning, followed by killing by bleeding; d) Bycatch must as far as possible be reduced, e) Fish that have been in contact with the gears, but that does not get caught or released after capture, should be undamaged and physically able to survive afterwards. In response to this, this project seeks to reflect on and integrate ethics in the development of new technologies and methods, with the aim of improving fish welfare in some key phases and processes in trawl fisheries. Trawling is a dominant fishing method in Norway and internationally, and improvements here can have significant overall impact. Specifically, the project will establish a framework for ethical assessement of new technology, develop and evaluate a new trawl cod-end for improved fish welfare, and investigate and assess stunning and killing methods. The project is a cooperation between two Norwegian and two Dutch research institutions; SINTEF and NTNU in Norway, and Utrecht University and Wageningen UR Livestock Research in the Netherlands.