Veterinary procedure
Fish Vaccination Station
Injecting fish against disease
What it is
Fish are sorted and briefly handled so a vaccine can be delivered by injection, immersion, spray, or in feed. Parts of the line are automated on some sites.
Where it sits in the system
Vaccinating the stock reduces outbreaks in intensive aquaculture and can cut the antibiotics a farm would otherwise use. Here the health purpose and the economics point the same way.
Welfare concern
The purpose is genuine: a vaccinated fish is less likely to fall sick. Getting the vaccine into it means crowding, capture, time out of the water, sometimes anaesthesia, and a needle, and each of those can stress or injure a fish when handled badly.
Worth being precise about
The photograph shows an active vaccination procedure, not a fully automatic machine. Protocols differ by species, and trained handling is what separates a brief procedure from an injury.
