Should we kill fish with robots? Ashlee Vance boards a boat to see Shinkei's Ikejime robot

kyliebytes · x · 2026-08-31

Journalist Ashlee Vance went on a fishing boat to check out Shinkei Systems, an El Segundo startup that built a robot to automate Ikejime, the Japanese fish-killing technique: the fish is spiked in the brain and bled out instantly upon reaching the boat. Compared with US practices where fish suffocate on deck for hours, Ikejime is more humane and yields firmer, cleaner, longer-lasting meat. The method requires skill and hasn't spread in the US or Europe — this startup wants robots to change that. Full article is paywalled.

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