We work to improve the welfare of farmed fishes as much as possible.

Learn More Why Fish Welfare Matters Of the estimated 165 billion farmed vertebrate animals alive at any given point globally, 125 billion are farmed fishes. Unfortunately, like other farmed animals, fish are often treated cruelly in the industry. [1] For the first time, aquaculture—the world’s fastest-growing food industry—has surpassed wild capture as humanity's main source of fishes.

Seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture, World Aquaculture is the farming of aquatic organisms including fish, molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants. Capture fishery production is the volume of wild fish catches landed for all commercial, industrial, recreational and subsistence purposes. 1960 2021 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 0 t 20 million t 40 million t 60 million t 80 million t 100 million t 120 million t Aquaculture Capture fisheries Data source: Multiple sources compiled by World Bank (2024) OurWorldinData.org/fish-and-overfishing | CC BY As aquaculture grows, fish welfare must grow, too. Causes of Suffering While Welfare Issues Vary In Type And Severity From Farm To Farm, The Broad Causes Of Suffering Farmed Fishes Face Include Overcrowding Poor water quality Ineffective and absent pre-slaughter stunning Diseases and parasites Inability to express their natural behaviors Given salmons’ natural migratory and predatory drives, keeping these animals in sea cages may be fundamentally unsuitable for their welfare.

As seen above,



salmons may exhibit behaviors such as leaping from the water as they try to remove parasitic sea lice from their bodies. Learn more. Ed Shephard / We Animals Fish Welfare Improvements Farmed fishes face a variety of welfare challenges, but some of these challenges are solvable.

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Benefits of Improving Welfare The welfare of fishes impacts biodiversity, human health, and business sustainability. Improved welfare is the right thing for industry, the environment, and the fishes.

Learn More About Us

How FWI Helps Fishes We research and execute cooperative animal welfare interventions in high-priority contexts. We select these contexts based on the scale of the problem, expected tractability, and other relevant factors.

Our Work Around The World China

Learn More India Learn More The Philippines Learn More Anchor 1 Our Impact We work to improve the lives of farmed fishes in two main ways: Programs We directly improve the welfare of farmed fishes with our programs. We estimate that we've helped over 5 million fishes so far.

Our Projects Our Impact

Research and Development We research new interventions to reduce the suffering of some of the largest and most neglected groups of farmed fishes.

Our Blog Keep Exploring Fish Sentience





Comparative approach to pain perception in fishes How Conscious Can A Fish Be?

Do Fish Feel

Pain? by Victoria Braithwaite What a Fish Knows: The Inner Lives of Our Underwater Cousins by Jonathan Balcombe Recent Blog Posts Results From Our Farm Program Outcome Evaluation We ran a randomized controlled trial to test whether our farm program actually improves water quality for fishes. This post discusses the study results and implications for our work. Jennifer-Justine Kirsch 2 hours ago Our Water Quality Ranges: Evidence and Adjustments We recently reviewed the evidence behind the water quality ranges we use in the ARA.

This post explains what we found and the minor adjustments we made. Jennifer-Justine Kirsch Jun 22 FWI’s Satellite Journey: The End of Our Remote Sensing Project (for now) A summary of our efforts to develop satellite-based remote sensing, and our plans going forward.

Paul Monaghan

Jun 19 Get Involved Interested in learning more or getting involved? The main ways that people can support our work are by working with us or donating. Thank you for helping us make a better world for all sentient life!

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Sign up for our newsletter to receive updates about our work, research, and job opportunities. See past issues. By subscribing, you consent to receive periodic email updates from Fish Welfare Initiative. FWI will not share your data with anyone. Thanks for subscribing! [1] However, if you consider invertebrates, the largest group of farmed animals are actually shrimps and insects. Learn more.

📌 Program Associate (Andhra Pradesh)
🏢 Effective Altruism Global
📍 Andhra Pradesh