Animal well-being

The well-being of fish is largely unknown territory. For farmed fish, it is well known what a production system does to natural behaviour and health, but the animal welfare of wild fish is a grey area. The ASC and MSC labels do not yet take animal welfare into account in their assessments. On our VISwijzer, the well-being of farmed fish is considered during the assessment.

Humane killing

The humane killing or slaughter of an animal means that the slaughter technique must create instant unconsciousness and insensitivity to pain. This is only laid down in the standard for organic farmed fish. Consumers who buy fish with an ASC or MSC ecolabel are therefore deceived.

Regulations in The Netherlands

However, the Dutch government has set standards for the humane killing of farmed fish. This ensures that organic trout, catfish, and eel are humanely slaughtered. However, eating eel is strongly discouraged because it is a critically endangered species. Furthermore, only salmon farmed in Scotland and Norway are slaughtered in a humane way.