Development of Resources to Promote Best Practice in the Humane Dispatch of Fish Caught by Recreational Fishers

Dispatch of finfish using the iki-jime method of brain destruction (also known as ikejime or brain spiking) is the fastest and most humane way to kill fish. However, fish brains are small and vary in location between species groups. Without guidance, recreational fishers can find it difficult to accurately pith the brain of a live fish, and the fish may suffer during this process. A void of information on how to perform iki-jime was considered a barrier to widespread uptake of this method. We filled this information gap by developing resources which provide accurate information on the iki-jime procedure and pinpoint the brain location of fish commonly captured by recreational fishers. To assist with communicating this information to recreational fishers and the broader community, a new website www.ikijime.com was developed, together with the Ikijime Tool series of phone apps, which provide fishers with access to interactive photograph/radiograph overlays revealing the brain location of over 100 species of fish from 37 families. These species specific resources raise awareness of fish welfare issues and improve the ability of recreational fishers to dispatch fish humanely using best practice methods.  Assistance is sought to expand the database to include more North American species.