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Stunning challenges: operational indicators flag failures, but neurological validation is needed to confirm stunning effectiveness in seabass and seabream

2025-12Journal article Open access
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dc.contributor.authorGräns, Albin
dc.contributor.authorCabrera-Álvarez, María José
dc.contributor.authorOliveira, Gonçalo
dc.contributor.authorSaraiva, João
dc.contributor.authorArechavala-Lopez, Pablo
dc.contributor.authorBortoletti, Martina
dc.contributor.authorSchwerte, Thorsten
dc.contributor.authorBrijs, Jeroen
dc.date.accessioned2025-12-17T10:35:59Z
dc.date.available2025-12-17T10:35:59Z
dc.date.issued2025-12
dc.description.abstractHumane slaughter in aquaculture depends on accurate assessments of insensibility, yet commonly used operational indicators remain poorly validated against neurological benchmarks. This study compared operational indicators such as the loss or recovery of equilibrium, ’eye-roll’ reflex, and ventilation reflex with visually evoked responses (VERs) in European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) subjected to anaesthetic immersion or in-water electrical stunning. Operational indicators consistently preceded or lagged behind VERs, risking misjudgment of fish sensibility. Notable species differences emerged, with seabass losing and recovering indicators faster than seabream, whose indicator sequences varied depending on stunning method. Among all indicators, the ventilation reflex aligned most closely with VERs in both species, suggesting it may be the most reliable operational proxy. Despite the increasing use of electrical stunning in commercial settings, rapid recovery times (within seconds to minutes) observed in most fish raise serious welfare concerns. These findings underscore the urgent need to improve and validate electrical stunning methods for seabass and seabream before they can be considered humane and are widely implemented. Until neurological tools are feasible for commercial use, thorough species- and method-specific validation of operational indicators remains essential for safeguarding fish welfare.eng
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.aqrep.2025.103189
dc.identifier.issn2352-5134
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/27966
dc.language.isoeng
dc.peerreviewedyes
dc.publisherElsevier
dc.relationAlgarve Centre for Marine Sciences
dc.relationCentre for Marine and Environmental Research
dc.relation.ispartofAquaculture Reports
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectWelfare
dc.subjectConsciousness
dc.subjectUnconsciousness
dc.subjectEEG
dc.subjectStunning
dc.subjectSlaughter
dc.titleStunning challenges: operational indicators flag failures, but neurological validation is needed to confirm stunning effectiveness in seabass and seabreameng
dc.typejournal article
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.awardTitleAlgarve Centre for Marine Sciences
oaire.awardTitleCentre for Marine and Environmental Research
oaire.awardURIinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UIDB%2F04326%2F2020/PT
oaire.awardURIinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/LA%2FP%2F0101%2F2020/PT
oaire.citation.startPage103189
oaire.citation.titleAquaculture Reports
oaire.citation.volume45
oaire.fundingStream6817 - DCRRNI ID
oaire.fundingStream6817 - DCRRNI ID
oaire.versionhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
person.familyNameCabrera-Álvarez
person.familyNameSaraiva
person.givenNameMaría José
person.givenNameJoão
person.identifier292979
person.identifier.ciencia-id7A15-0E73-E652
person.identifier.orcid0000-0001-5646-8743
person.identifier.orcid0000-0002-8891-8881
person.identifier.ridM-6167-2013
person.identifier.scopus-author-id26325116400
project.funder.identifierhttp://doi.org/10.13039/501100001871
project.funder.identifierhttp://doi.org/10.13039/501100001871
project.funder.nameFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
project.funder.nameFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
relation.isAuthorOfPublication22baf6b1-427b-4e64-bd1e-58ce69371bd7
relation.isAuthorOfPublication67e0a05e-e603-451e-b745-f63e2bc11676
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery22baf6b1-427b-4e64-bd1e-58ce69371bd7
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