‘Showing respect’: the old Japanese technique that promises fish a better way to die

Fishermen in Mexico are using the ike jime method, which aims to reduce fish trauma, to improve the quality of catches and help sustainability

Every morning, hundreds of small white fishing boats dot the dark blue waters of Veracruz's coastline on the Gulf of Mexico. Most of the crews, many of whose families have been fishing for generations, employ traditional methods - using nets to catch large numbers of fish, which then slowly asphyxiate once out of the water.

But a few of the fishermen are doing something different, using a technique that emerged in Japan several centuries ago. It is a method for slaughtering fish that emulates a process called ike jime, which is based on a simple scientific principle: the less trauma the fish experiences, the longer the flesh remains fresh.