Patent ID: 7056202

Claim:
A device for slaughtering fish, including at least one fish receptacle for positioning and receiving the fish, a throat cutting apparatus for cutting through the throat in preparation for the pharynx cut, a pharynx cutting apparatus for completely cutting through the pharynx, a slaughtering apparatus for opening the abdominal cavity, a gut severing apparatus for releasing the entrails from the abdominal cavity, and a peripheral fish receiving drum with which the fish can be moved to the individual processing stations, wherein the fish receiving drum, which is driven intermittently, is rotatable about a horizontal shaft, wherein the device moves the fish in an essentially circular path around a horizontal shaft such that longitudinal axes of the fish are substantially parallel with said horizontal shaft, wherein the fish receptacle includes pectoral fin receptacles for positioning the fish and a torso clamp for fixing the fish torsos and, in addition to each fish receptacle, a spring-loaded head support is provided in association with a head clamp which clamps the head of the fish in a sandwich fashion between itself and the spring-loaded head support, and wherein the spring-loaded head support is pivotable about a pivot point.