Fish welfare in practice
Excellent fish welfare requires more than good intentions. It requires documented technology, clear requirements, and collaboration with actors who help raise standards across the entire value chain.
That is why Optimar works closely with retail partners, animal welfare organizations, certification schemes, and charitable initiatives that all have clear expectations for how fish and shellfish are stunned and handled.
How we work with fish welfare
Optimar’s work on fish welfare begins early in the design phase of new solutions and continues through testing, documentation, and use in real-life operations. Over time, this approach has resulted in our solutions being referenced in industry standards, regulations, and requirements set by key actors across the value chain.
1. Fish welfare as a fundamental principle in product development
Fish welfare is a fundamental principle in the development of Optimar’s solutions. Our systems are designed for gentle handling, reduced stress, and controlled processes – whether related to stunning, transport, or overall process flow.In particular, Optimar has taken a targeted approach to documenting effects, improving practices, and ensuring correct use in operational settings within electrical stunning. Experience from installations in fisheries, aquaculture, and processing facilities is actively used to further improve our solutions.
2. Close collaboration with diverse stakeholders
Good fish welfare is not developed in isolation. That is why Optimar works closely with animal welfare organizations, research institutions, and professional networks that share a strong commitment to animal welfare.These collaborations provide valuable input to both technology development and practical application, and help ensure that our solutions meet expectations from authorities, markets, and society at large.
3. Data collection and continuous improvement
Fish welfare must be documented, but it must also work in practice. For this reason, Optimar places strong emphasis on testing, data collection, and continuous improvement. Each installation and each process provides new insights that are used to further development.
Selected collaborations
Shrimp Welfare Project
Collaboration related to the use of electrical stunning in the shrimp industry. Optimar contributes technology that is made available through NGO initiatives, including in markets where access to such solutions would otherwise be limited.
Humane Slaughter Association
Professional collaboration and dialogue on humane methods for stunning and slaughter of wild-caught fish and shellfish, with a strong focus on documented effects in practice.
Aquatic Life Institute
Samarbeid knyttet til utvikling av retningslinjer og beste praksis for bedre Collaboration related to the development of guidelines and best practices for improved welfare of aquatic animals, including the use of electrical stunning.
Crustacean Compassion
Dialogue and knowledge-sharing on crustacean welfare and the need for documented and humane stunning methods.
Fish Welfare Initiative
Collaboration focused on improving fish welfare in aquaculture, with an emphasis on practical solutions and measurable impact.
Eurogroup for Animals
Participation in professional dialogue and reporting related to fish welfare in European aquaculture and fisheries.
Centre for Aquaculture Progress
Contribution to the development of indicators and protocols for operational fish welfare in aquaculture.
Animal Welfare Education Centre
Collaboration focused on documentation and knowledge-sharing related to stunning and fish welfare.
Future for Fish
Collaboration related to the assessment and documentation of electrical stunning in different markets.
Increasing requirements from the retail sector
Requirements for documented fish welfare are increasingly driven by the retail sector. Several leading supermarket chains have introduced their own guidelines for the stunning and handling of fish and shellfish, where the use of electrical stunning is included as a clear requirement.
- Optimar is, among others, explicitly referenced in Marks & Spencer’s Decapod Welfare Policy as a technology provider contributing to improved practices for the stunning of shellfish. This policy sets specific stunning requirements as a prerequisite for deliveries to Marks & Spencer.In addition, several other international retail and seafood companies apply similar requirements for documented fish welfare in their purchasing conditions.Examples of retailers with such requirements include:
- Marks & Spencer
- Tesco
- Waitrose
- Sainsbury’s
- Albert Heijn
Good fish welfare is a core part of Optimar’s sustainability efforts.
Together with a focus on energy efficiency, resource utilization, and safe working conditions, this contributes to a more responsible and future-oriented seafood industry.