THE Australian Animal Welfare Strategy (AAWS), developed by the federal Government to raise the standards for animal care and welfare, has been working with the commercial fishing industry to improve handling of fish for better product quality and better animal welfare outcomes.
The attached information contains details of the work of the Aquatic Animal Welfare Working Group which operates under Australian Animal Welfare Strategy (www.australiananimalwelfare.com.au).
The Working Group has established a set of principles in relation to animal welfare to allow the aquatic animal sector to enhance its own codes of practice. These codes are guiding improved animal welfare outcomes in the aquatic sector. One example in the commercial fishing industry is the Rod/Handline Fishing Code of Practice.
For recreational fishers, a new website has been developed that demonstrates the iki jime method, a traditional Japanese technique used to kill fish by brain ablation (and one of the most humane methods of killing fish). Visit www.ikijime.com for more information and check out the video on the technique here. Photos below show the full colour and x-ray view of the iki jime technique in coral trout.
For more information on the Aquatic Animal Welfare Working Group or the work being done on the iki jime technique by Dr Ben Diggles, contact Suzanne Lewis on (02) 8204 3853.
