Following successful trials in Mexico, Regal Springs has decided to partner with aquaculture technology specialist Ace Aquatec and use the latter company’s Humane Stunner Universal System.
One of the world’s largest producers of tilapia, Regal Springs said it piloted the stunner system while looking for a stunning solution to both harvest its tilapia and address growing demand for responsibly source food. The new stunning system will allow it to introduce “in-water, high welfare stunning solutions” to its processing facilities, the company said.
“This is a huge step forward from thermal stunning to a more humane and controlled stunning process, and with this towards better fish welfare,” Regal Springs Sustainability Manager Emily McGregor said. “As a side effect also process and quality parameters improved: reduced bruising, better quality of the fillets, better working conditions for staff. This supported Regal Spring’s decision to move from pilot trials to immediate uptake of the equipment, and proliferation across their business.”
The selection was, according to Regal Springs, two years in the making and was kicked off when Ace Aquatec was awarded GBP 1 million (USD 1.2 million, EUR 1.17 million) in funding by the Humane Slaughter Association to provide pilot equipment to farms that had no humane harvesting in place for finfish. Ace Aquatec approached Regal Springs on a trial basis to provide full test results to certification bodies that verified the level of unconsciousness of the fish and provided evidence of welfare improvements.
“Regal Springs presented us with a unique challenge to create a bespoke product for them in the rural depths of Mexico,” Ace Aquatec CEO Nathan Pyne-Cater said. “Together we created a stunning system that puts fish welfare at the forefront of their operations. This represents the beginning of a general acceleration across fish farming, and the wild sector linking welfare at harvest, with the economic value.”
The announcement marks the second deal in just over a month for Ace Aquatec. In June the company announced an agreement with Sævareid, Norway-based smolt farmers Sævareid Fiskeanlegg to provide smolt-stunning technology. The company has also been selected to create a bespoke product for Pure Salmon, and was the recipient of a 2019 Global Aquaculture Innovation Award.
“We are now working with Barramundi farms in Australia, prawn farms in Europe, and the trout sector in Canada as consumers and regulators insist upon more humane farming processes,” Pyne-Cater said. “We’ve been able to demonstrate that when farms take a welfare first approach, they can see real economic gains in their business. This is critical if the mission to see all fish humanely harvested worldwide is to be achieved.”
Photos courtesy of Regal Springs/Ace Aquatec
