In its most elemental form, ike jime (活け締め) is a traditional Japanese slaughter technique that requires the handler to instantaneously kill a fish using a manual brain spike thrust into the fish’s brain cavity. Because death caused by passive suffocation results in a cascade of negative biochemical, biophysical, and hormonal consequences for a fish, ike jime rescues the product quality through a series of skilled handling techniques and specialized tools. Ike jime ensures that the handler can literally control not only the texture of the fish, but also the visual appearance, the smell, and the flavor of the final product. This is the practice of a considered kill.