活け締め

Ikejime

The ultimate way to enjoy the quality of fish

Natural Quality

The quality of fish swimming in the sea deteriorates as soon as they are caught. By handling fish carefully, we can preserve the original quality. Ikejime is a set of Japanese techniques used to kill fish quickly, preserving and maximising the natural quality.

Ikejime Quaility

Procedure

Shinkejime

Shinkeijime is one of the best ways to stop the stress progressing through the body and to halt the effect of lactic acid. A wire is inserted, or pressurised air is injected through the spine and this damages the nerve system and stops the survival message passing through the body.

Head Piercing

This is a quick method to paralyse the fish and stop the survival message. The brain of the fish is pierced using a spike, a knife or a harpoon.

Percussive Stunning

This method is used in the salmon and trout industry. It is traditionally performed manually by a single blow to the head of each fish using a bat or a hammer. In recent years, some sophisticated machines have been developed in order to control the effectiveness of the stunning.

Spinal Cutting

This method is used to cut the spine behind the gill flap and so stops the nerve message passing through the body. The cutting action also severs the artery under the spine and this starts the bleeding process. Hand-operated and automatic machines have been developed to carry out this method.