Electrophysiological and behavioural responses of turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) cooled in ice water

•Turbot habituated to a temperature of 12 or 19 °C was immersed in ice water.•FFT analysis did not support the conclusion that they were unconscious.•Heart rates first increased, and then decreased after immersion in ice water.•After 75 min in ice water they were responsive to pain stimulation and vibration.•Immersion in ice water is consistent with inactivity, but may be not humane.

Behavioural, neural and physiological aspects related to pre-slaughter cooling of turbot habituated to two environmental temperatures (18.7 and 12.0 °C) were investigated. Six fish in both treatments were immersed in ice water for 75 min. For control, four fish were immersed in water under their habituated environmental temperature.Turbot did not show a quick reduction of overall power in the EEG (electroencephalogram) to less than 10%, nor did the turbot show a shift in brain wave predominance from high to low frequency waves. At 15 min after immersion in ice water at least 7 out of 12 fish still showed total power values over 10% of pre-immersion values. Significant reductions in responsiveness to needle scratches and reduced breathing after immersion in ice water were observed, but none of these parameters had dropped to 0 even after 75 min in ice water. A significant reduction in gill score was found at 2 and 5 min after immersion in ice water compared to the control fish (p < 0.05). Heart rates significantly increased immediately after immersion in ice water and then decreased to a low basal value 30 min after immersion. The heart beat did not show major changes in regularity over time. Finally, at 15 and 75 min the turbot in ice water were significantly more responsive to vibration than to needle scratches.From these results we conclude that immersion in ice water may not induce unconsciousness, however, the brain activity does decrease to a lower level. The implication of this low brain activity with respect to welfare is not clear. Increased heart rates and maintained low brain activity and response to needle scratches during early immersion in ice water are indicative of a stress response appearing to affect welfare negatively.