Cermaq awarded for leading animal welfare

The NGO Compassion in World Farming has awarded Cermaq with their Special Recognition Prize for Cermaq’s welfare practices for humane slaughter of its salmon.

“Fish welfare has always had top priority in Cermaq, and we appreciate that fish welfare is getting more and more important to customers and consumers. We focus on welfare throughout all stages of production, including the termination of life. In Cermaq we can guarantee human slaughter practices,” says Lars Galtung, Cermaq’s Chief Officer for Communication and Sustainability.

The prize ceremony was held at the SIAL conference in Paris yesterday evening. Compassion in World Farming is an NGO focusing on animal welfare in farming and has over the last years engaged also in aquaculture. The organization scores the largest salmon farming companies on multiple practices and standards to assess the welfare throughout the farming process. Human slaughter is only one of the topics being assessed, and the Special Recognition Prize recognises Cermaq for humane slaughter of fish using percussive stunning.

“With increasing awareness of fish sentience and the pressing welfare challenges in fish farming, it’s more important than ever to recognise companies leading the way. We are delighted to recognise Cermaq for its global commitment to humane stunning methods for salmon. As one of the largest Atlantic salmon producers, they are setting a benchmark for both industry and certification schemes to follow,” says Dr Tracey Jones, Global Director of Food Business, Compassion in World Farming.

“We are honored to receive a Special Recognition for the work to secure humane slaughter. Cermaq’s goal is to ensure that the animals are treated with respect and care, even in their final moments. We want to acknowledge the work CIWF is doing do bring attention to this important topic. It is motivating to all in Cermaq that the standards and practices impacting fish welfare are assessed by organisations as Compassion in World Farming”, says Henrik Duesund Global Fish Health Manager Feed & Fish Health Innovation in Cermaq

On Cermaq’s web site we describe our practices related to fish welfare and present our fish welfare policy. Annual performance is reported in our sustainability report.