The grant will allow The Center for Responsible Seafood (TCRS) to continue work that was initially funded seven years ago by Open Philanthropy, which was recently renamed Coefficient Giving.
The grant will support research into humane slaughter of fish, aiming to minimise pain, fear and distress before and during processing. A key requirement of humane slaughter is a successful stun, which takes effect immediately and renders the fish insensible to pain until death occurs. Research conducted under an earlier grant revealed that some currently used stunning methods do not consistently meet this standard across species and processing conditions. With continued funding, TCRS will evaluate novel technologies for humane stunning, including pressure-wave methods and machine-vision-guided laser targeting. The project will also refine remote monitoring systems to help processing plant workers identify fish that may not be fully stunned.
Trials will be conducted by researchers from Mississippi State University, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Nautilus Collaboration. Findings from these trials will be disseminated through TCRS channels and made available to certification bodies for potential use in future standards for humane slaughter.
“A much-appreciated aspect of funding from Coefficient Giving has been its continuity," said TCRS president, George Chamberlain, in a press release. “This has allowed TCRS researchers to seamlessly progress from ambiguous behavioural indicators of fish insensibility to definitive EEG measurements revealing shortcomings of current stunning and slaughter systems and the pursuit of novel technologies with potential for greatly improving fish welfare at slaughter.”
