'Ronja Skye' approved by Freedom Food

A co-operative effort between Scottish Sea Farms, the RSPCA and Freedom Food has resulted in the first approval of a Well Boat.

Well boats are used for a range of functions including transferring fish for harvest. With the scheme’s requirement for birth to slaughter coverage, the importance of developing standards for these unique vessels plays a critical part in the development of Freedom Food’s farmed fish offering.

Aquaculture has undergone massive changes, in slaughter methods in particular. Historically, salmon were slaughtered at sea using a variety of methods, including the use of CO2 – undesirable in terms of welfare.

A more acceptable process, in welfare terms, was subsequently developed and known as the percussion stunner. This is a machine that can be used off-shore and on-shore. It is sited on a flat surface, onto which the fish are manually presented to a ‘nudge’ plate, stunning the fish instantly. New developments in this area are looking at underwater stunners which will mean that fish do not leave the water to be harvested, therefore causing less stress.

However, retail demand for fresh fish regardless of weather conditions has left farming operations facing the difficulty of finding staff to man off-shore harvesting operations. As a result, many of the larger fish farmers have now moved to on-shore harvesting - hence the importance of developing welfare standards for well boat transport. The Ronja Skye is a state of the art vessel that can operate with closed valves and can monitor and control the temperature, CO2 and Oxygen levels of the water and view the fish through under water cameras

But, whilst welfare is the moving force behind Freedom Food, the scheme is aware of the importance of highlighting the economic benefits of welfare investment and Scottish Sea Farms have noticed significant improvements in flesh quality and shelf life as a result of positive welfare input during transportation and handling.