Towards a strategy for humane fishing in the UK (fishcount.org.uk)

We urge the UK authorities and food businesses to develop more humane commercial fishing. Current practices result in poor welfare to very large numbers of fishes. With the growing importance of fish welfare to UK and global consumers, this is a major opportunity to develop welfare-quality branding for UK fishing and to benefit a huge number of sentient animals.

The UK should act quickly to develop systems for humane killing onboard its fishing vessels and more gentle methods of capture and landing of fish. The opportunity to improve welfare is substantial.

We understand that food businesses are interested in being able to provide humanely caught fish to their customers. We expect that increasing numbers of fishers will choose to improve the way they handle their catch, given the right knowledge and technology. Animal welfare can help fishers add value to each fish and make it a superior product.

Development of humane fishing would benefit greatly from industry-wide initiatives and the support of government. The UK Government has helped to solve similar problems in UK aquaculture, working together with UK industry and scientists, and has a key role in the development of more humane fisheries.