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Issue link: https://seafoodbusiness.epubxp.com/i/112398
Special Feature Photo courtesy of Queen���s University This crab���s behavior changed when zapped ��� a sign it may feel pain. Killing them softly If crustaceans indeed feel pain, will sales of live crabs and lobsters suffer? BY MELISSA WOOD P laced onto the scale, the lobster gently twitched an antenna. Its shell maintained familiar ocean hues of mottled green and brown. But despite these signs of life, it was, assuredly, quite dead. Te lobster had been ordered from the seafood counter at Whole Foods Market in Portland, Maine, which is the only store in the nationwide chain that sells live lobsters. Tis is because Portland is located close enough to the ports where lobsters are unloaded so Whole Foods can guarantee its live lobsters are handled with care during shipping and processing. For the ���nal step of its delicate care of live lobsters, the retailer will also kill a shell���sh ���humanely��� by quickly electrocuting it in a device in the back room. 50 SeaFood Business March 2013 Tat Whole Foods lobster supposedly didn���t su���er. But do they ever? Te debate on whether lobsters and other crustaceans can feel pain ��� and whether the truth of the matter has any implications for the industry that buys, handles and cooks them ��� was revived after a study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology in midJanuary concluded that, yes, they do indeed feel pain. Te researchers say changes in crab behavior to small electrical shocks are proof. Prof. Robert Elwood and Barry Magee of Queen���s University School of Biological Studies in Belfast, Ireland, introduced 90 shore crabs individually to a tank with two dark shelters. When the crabs ran to one of the shelters some were exposed to an electric shock. When introduced to the tank a second time, most returned to the shelter they had chosen the ���rst time. Tose shocked the ���rst time were shocked again. But in the third round, the responses of the shocked crabs changed. ���When introduced to the tank for the third time, however, the vast majority of shocked crabs now went to the alternative safe shelter. Tose not shocked continued to use their preferred shelter,��� said Elwood in a university release. ���Having experienced two rounds of shocks, the crabs learned to avoid the shelter where they received the shock. Tey were willing to give up their hideaway in order to avoid the source of their probable pain.��� Tough Elwood concedes it is impossible to prove an animal feels pain, this type of response ��� a change in behavior ��� is consistent with the ���idea of pain��� based on various criteria. Elwood says the conclusion should lead to a greater focus on how crabs, prawns, lobsters and other crustaceans are treated within the food industry. ���Billions of crustaceans are caught or reared in aquaculture for the food industry,��� he said. ���In contrast to mammals, crustaceans are given little or no protection as the presumption is that they cannot experience pain. Our research suggests otherwise. More consideration of the treatment of these animals is needed as a potentially very large problem is being ignored.��� Te treatment of crustaceans was a hot discussion topic in 2006 when Whole Foods announced it would no longer carry live lobsters in its stores. Ten and now, those in the lobster industry point to research that shows the opposite of the Queen���s University study. A February 2005 study by a University of Oslo scientist concluded that lobsters and other decapod crustaceans ���have some capacity of learning, but it is unlikely they can feel pain.��� ���Tere���s been a lot of research done on this that shows lobsters have a very simple nervous system. It���s comparable to a bug or insect. It���s very unlikely to feel pain,��� says Marianne LaCroix, acting executive director of the Maine Lobster Promotion Council in Portland, Maine. Whether you believe crustaceans feel pain or not, the Queen���s University ���ndings could have implications for the industry, points out Simon Buckhaven of Bedfordshire, England. He invented the Crustastun, a device that electrocutes the animals in half a second. Lobsters and cray���sh typically die in about ���ve seconds while crabs are dead in 10 seconds. Visit us online at www.seafoodbusiness.com