The U.K.’s Department of Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced its intention to issue government guidance for England on the landing and preparation of live crustaceans, with similar guidance for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland regarding crustacean welfare likely to follow in the near future.
Catchers, processors, wholesalers, fishmongers, and restaurateurs across the country have expressed concern over the exact logistics involved, their cost implications, the required time frame for implementation, and who will be responsible for enforcing the rules.
Besides concerns over implementation and enforcement, seafood industry stakeholders also have longer-term worries over whether restrictions or an outright ban on the sale of live crustaceans could lead to the demise of the trade and open the door for greater supplies of imported frozen products.
Defra has made a recent push to ensure the nation’s crustacean landing and slaughter practices align with the 2015 Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (WATOK) regulations.
David Jarrad, CEO of the Shellfish Association of Great Britain (SAGB), told SeafoodSource that if the upcoming guidance follows WATOK bylaws exactly, the conscious boiling or freezing of lobsters and crabs or conscious dismemberment of decapods would be deemed illegal...
