ASC position statement on stunning

Last updated 12 November 2024

The new ASC Farm Standard is structured according to four principles – with our new, fourth principle developed to put fish welfare front and centre of our new approach. Animal welfare is increasingly considered a key factor in defining responsible production and determining the social acceptability of an animal production system.

The new principle on Fish Health and Welfare is divided into three main pillars: routine operations; handling; and slaughter. ASC believes that fish are sentient beings, able to feel and experience pain, stress and anxiety. Therefore, stunning is a crucial requirement in the slaughter criterion of the new ASC Farm Standard to make sure that no animal suffers unnecessarily.

Under the new Farm Standard, all fish, including fish not destined for human consumption, must be  stunned prior to killing.

The Standard will also require farms to:

• Prohibit killing methods such asphyxiation in air, or carbon dioxide (CO₂) bath, salt bath, ammonia bath and evisceration
• Ensure that at least 95% of the fish lose consciousness immediately after stunning, and any remaining conscious fish are re-stunned
• Ensure that stunning and killing are effective by verifying the absence of all of the following: opercular movements, eye movements, body movements (except for involuntary muscular spasms), and reaction to a painful stimulus
• Ensure measures are in place to immediately respond to ineffective stunning or killing, including the presence of a back-up system, and shall implement appropriate corrective actions to prevent recurrence.

In addition to these improvements, all on-site staff, as well as employees and subcontractors involved in fish husbandry, handling, or slaughter operations must receive advanced health and welfare training.