Combining automation and animal welfare on board The Golden Ray

At Optimar, we specialize in fish and seafood handling with care – developing solutions tailored to the needs of different fisheries around the world. Smarter processing means better fishing, improved animal welfare, safer onboard operations, and higher-quality seafood for consumers.

Together with Fisheries Innovation & Sustainability (FIS) and key players in the UK nephrops industry, Optimar has developed the first integrated onboard system for humane stunning and automated tailing of nephrops.

Turning a complex challenge into a working solution

The project started with a challenge shared across the UK seafood industry: there was no available technology capable of stunning and tailing nephrops onboard a fishing vessel.

– Three years ago, a group of UK seafood businesses came to FIS with a really big problem. There was no machine available to stun and tail nephrops onboard a fishing vessel. So we went to Optimar – and together, we made one, says Kara Brydson, Executive Director at Fisheries Innovation & Sustainability (FIS).

The result is the integrated Stun and Tail System, which combines controlled electrical stunning with automated tailing in one continuous process.

Designed for real conditions at sea

Developed in close collaboration with the industry and backed by the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Executive, the project has moved from concept to a sea-ready solution tested under real operating conditions onboard the vessel The Golden Ray. 

The system is also helping address one of the industry’s most demanding onboard tasks: manual tailing. Traditionally, crew members manually process large volumes of live nephrops over long shifts on deck. Automating this process improves both efficiency and working conditions onboard.

– My main focus was crew welfare. We wanted to reduce the amount of time the crew spends standing on deck performing repetitive manual work. Each crew member tails around 43 prawns per minute manually – this machine automates that process, delivers a cleaner cut, and reduces damage to the product itself, explains Darren McClements, who skippered The Golden Ray.

– Animal welfare also has to be at the top of this project. So for us, it’s about both crew welfare and animal welfare, he adds.

Improving welfare, quality, and efficiency

The integrated Stun and Tail System represents a significant step forward for the nephrops fishery. By combining humane stunning, automated processing, and advanced automation technology, the system helps the industry meet increasingly strict expectations from retailers and markets regarding animal welfare and sustainability.

At the same time, it improves onboard workflows, reduces manual strain on crews, and supports better raw material utilization and product quality.

The concept has already received international recognition, winning the Catch Welfare Innovation Award 2025.

Building the future of responsible fisheries

For Optimar, the project demonstrates the value of close collaboration between technology suppliers, fishing companies, processors, researchers, and authorities.

As regulations tighten and the industry continues to evolve, solutions that combine fish welfare, automation, efficiency, and sustainability will become increasingly important.

Learn more about our solutions:

• Stun and Tail System
• Stun and Tail System tailored for The Golden Ray
• Tailing Machine
• Electric Shrimp and Crustaceans Stunner™