Catch and delivery of live haddock from demersal seine

Summary

Live delivery and pre rigor filleting of haddock have resulted in a higher proportion of premium products, less gaping, less blood, and better fillet yield compared to traditional delivery. The project has documented that there is a connection between vitality, survival, welfare, quality, and yield in fillet production. Good fish welfare leads to high survival in catch, which in turn results in high quality and good production yield. Vitality measurements proved useful for assessing welfare and whether the haddock is suitable for live delivery. Assessment of eye reflex is the vitality measurement considered the easiest to use when fishing for live delivery of haddock. The lack of or reduced eye reflex indicates poor vitality, and these haddock should then be sorted out and are considered unsuited for live delivery. The survival rate for haddock was 55-75 percent when stored in the vessel’s tanks, while the survival rate in the experimental tanks was 73-90 percent. One of the most important factors for haddock survival is maintaining a sufficiently high O2 level in the live fish tanks and the buffer tank on land. Therefore, it is crucial to supply clean, oxygen-rich water through the bottom of the tank.