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

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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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Perks 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.

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About Us How FWI Helps Fishes

We research and execute collaborative 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

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India

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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

1 day 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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[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