We Animals contributor Selene Magnolia and the Italian non-profit Essere Animali have teamed up to document the suffering of fish raised for food consumption in the Mediterranean fishing industry.
The images and video captured during the investigation expose poor living conditions and inhumane slaughter, capture and processing endured by fish on fishing vessels, fish farms, processing plants, and markets.
With a focus on gilt-head sea bream and European sea bass, Greece is known worldwide for its extensive aquaculture and commercial fishing industries. In 2019 Greece supplied 59% of the sea bream and sea bass sold in the European Union and 22% sold worldwide, according to the Federation of Greek Mariculture’s 2020 report.
On fish farms, hundreds of thousands of fish are forced inside underwater cages where they can spend up to two years. Mortality rates are high. The overcrowded conditions cause chronic stress for fish and create the perfect breeding ground for disease that can spread to both farmed and wild fish populations.
Our photojournalists witnessed the cruel and painful slaughter of fish on farms. These visuals document sea bass and sea bream captured and crammed into nets, where they are exposed to air and crushed by the weight of other caught fish. Once out of the water, they are thrown, still alive and fully conscious, into containers filled with water and ice. They do not lose consciousness immediately and can suffer for many dozens of minutes before suffocating to death. Although this method of slaughter violates the World Organisation for Animal Health’s (OIE) international standards, it is still the method most commonly used to kill farmed sea bass and sea bream in Greece, Italy and Spain, as stated by the European Commission.
For more information about this investigation, including how you can take action, visit Essere Animali’s website.
To view more images and video from this collection, visit our Mediterranean Fishing gallery.