PIONEERING PRAWN STUNNING AND TAILING MACHINE WINS CATCH WELFARE INNOVATION AWARD

Pioneering prawn stunning and tailing machine wins Catch Welfare Innovation Award. The Catch Welfare Platform has announced the winner of its first Innovation Award, recognising a ground-breaking development set to transform welfare and working conditions in one of the UK’s most important fisheries.

The Prawn Stunning and Tailing Machine, a project led by Fisheries Innovation and Sustainability (FIS) in partnership with a unique coalition of seafood supply chain businesses, has been named the 2025 Catch Welfare Innovation Award winner.

Nephrops (prawns) are typically live-tailed at sea by crews, a labour-intensive process that poses welfare and workload challenges. The prototype machine automatically stuns and tails prawns, providing a more humane and efficient alternative to manual live tailing. The innovation has significant potential to improve both animal welfare and crew wellbeing by reducing the long hours spent on deck in difficult weather and working conditions.

The system’s ability to withstand at-sea conditions was successfully demonstrated during commercial trials aboard the prawn trawler Golden Ray in May 2025. The project received support from the UK Seafood Fund’s Fisheries and Seafood Scheme (FaSS), matched by FIS and its industry partners.

The machine’s development represents supply-chain-wide collaboration, involving the Anglo Northern Ireland Fish Producers’ Organisation (ANIFPO), Northern Ireland Fish Producers’ Organisation (NIFPO), Scottish White Fish Producers’ Association (SWFPA), Associated Seafoods, Shrimp Welfare Project, Kilkeel Seafoods, Whitby Seafoods, Young’s Seafood, Macduff Shellfish, M&S, Sainsbury’s, Seafish, University of Stirling, and The Fishmongers’ Company.

Mike Breen, from the Catch Welfare Platform and one of the judges on the Innovation Award panel, congratulated the project team. He said:

“This is a genuinely collaborative and industry led innovation, which has incorporated fishers, technologists, researchers, manufacturers and retailers in finding an innovative solution to two real-world problems; animal welfare and the socio-economic sustainability of a local, commercial fishery.

“Their application of prototype technologies in a real-world setting has the potential to make a big welfare impact on a high number of individual animals, while also reducing the workload for the crew and costs for the vessels. Moreover, they have invested in funding high level neurophysiological research to demonstrate the effectiveness of the stunning system.”

Kara Brydson, Executive Director at Fisheries Innovation and Sustainability, said:

“We’re delighted with this recognition of the hard work of our industry partners to meet new animal welfare requirements head on. Successful innovation is as much about people as it is about machinery, and this group of fishermen, processors, retailers and of course the technical experts at Optimar have worked together to create a machine that can withstand everything a fishing vessel can throw at it.

“This project is proof that precompetitive collaboration – by the seafood industry for the seafood industry – truly works. It is much better to work together to create a solution that works for us as an industry, rather than have so-called solutions pushed upon us at the last minute. That is the ethos of FIS – who knows better about what’s safe and practical than the catchers and processors themselves?

“Our machine will improve welfare practices, create a better working environment for crews and drive operational efficiencies, ultimately creating business and community resilience in the valuable scampi market. However, even once the machine is finalised for sale, we’re still at the beginning of the story. FIS is commissioning an economic analysis to help make the business case for investing in the machine. FIS believes that early adopters of novel technology should be supported, either financially or through positive regulations. We’ll work with those early adopters to understand what additional support is needed to ensure that all fishing communities can be ready to meet new rules on animal welfare.”

The Catch Welfare Platform Innovation Award recognises projects that demonstrate measurable welfare improvement, commercial viability, and collaboration across science and industry.

The Innovation Award was handcrafted from reclaimed driftwood by Irish-based wood designer Martin Clinton at Carraig na Rón in Fanad, Co. Donegal.

Image: Catch Welfare Platform