Ace Aquatec and its Australian distributor Fresh by Design have partnered with Aquna Sustainable Murray Cod to build and install the first in-water electrical stunner for cod in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.
Australian fish farm Aquna Sustainable Murray Cod in Riverina, New South Wales, will introduce an innovative in-water stunning technology that will reduce stress on fish during the harvest. The company, which produces high-quality Murray cod in a land-based aquaculture model, has one of the lowest environmental footprints in the industry and announced the new cod stunning system as an improvement in the application of quality, integrity, sustainability, and innovation company’s principles.
The new system will be supplied and installed by Fresh by Design, the Australian company which has been appointed by the Scottish global technology provider Ace Aquatec as their first distributor in the APAC region earlier this year. Fresh by Design will also provide ongoing servicing and support with comprehensive advice on the new system implementation.
The in-water electrical stunner will improve Murray Cod’s commitment to humane farming processes and will contribute to increasing ethical practices in the APAC region.
“At Aquna Sustainable Murray Cod, fish welfare is of the utmost importance to us and we are excited to be able to use the stunning equipment from Ace Aquatec that allows us to maximize the fish welfare outcomes from our harvesting process. This means that fish will not be handled at all until post stunning during the harvest process, which also significantly reduces our labor requirements and minimizes any injury risk to staff,”, said Mat Ryan, managing director of Aquna Sustainable Murray Cod.
“With the theme of humane harvesting continuing to dominate discussions globally, we are excited to see Murray Cod’s highly skilled production team adopt our in-water stunning technology as a core element in their processing strategy. This will enhance their quality and welfare first promise to their customers,” said Ace Aquatec’s chief sales and marketing officer, Tara McGregor-Woodhams.
“This is a key milestone for fish welfare in Australia with Aquna Sustainable Murray Cod the first producer to implement the Ace Aquatec in-water stunning system for cod. We are proud to be involved with this project and to provide our support to Aquna Sustainable Murray Cod,” said Lachlan Bassett, general manager of Fresh by Design.
