In
our November Newsletter we announced the Runt Stunner. Marine
Harvest commissioned Ace Aquatec to develop a compact machine
that could humanely kill non-commercial sized salmon automatically
and without human intervention for its dead-haul ship the
MV Tauranga. The machine works alongside the percussive
stunners freeing up operator’s time and improving
stunning efficiency.
Until
the arrival of the Runt Stunner it was a commonly held belief
that electrically stunned fish must be treated in order
to kill them, either by putting them on ice, denying them
water or bleeding them.
But
in ground-breaking trials aboard the MV Tauranga we have
confirmed that the stunner is so powerful that it kills
the fish without the need for any further treatment.
(click
here to apply for a draft report)
Not
only can the Runt Stunner be used to improve the efficiency
of commercial slaughter lines but it has caught the attention
of many vets and scientists as the perfect machine for emergency
slaughter.
The
vets recognise that the Runt Stunner is an humane alternative
to CO2, is much faster than anaesthetics and less labour
intensive than stunning percussively. Ace Aquatec is in
discussion with several organisations on this topic.
A
draft report is available to scientists or vets upon application.
The Runt Stunner will also feature in a talk given by Marine
Harvest taking place at Aquanor 2009 scheduled
for 09:30 19th August at the Britannia Hotel,
Trondheim.
Interested
readers can visit the Ace
Aquatec website to view the Runt Stunner in action.
.
The
turbot panel seems to have been unaware of the existence
of Ace Aquatec's HS3 (see 
The
sea bass/sea bream panel was correct that “alternative
methods such as …. Electrical have only been used
experimentally.” This is because sea bass
and sea bream firms are unwilling to commit (without incentives
or universal pressure) to more humane methods of slaughter.
The panel is correct to state that “Only
electrical stunning can induce an immediate loss of consciousness”
and Ace Aquatec supports their opinion encouraging the “urgent
development of commercial stunning methods to induce immediate
(or rapid) unconsciousness in sea bass and sea bream”.
