State of affairs of aquaculture in India

India is the second largest producer of fish in the world behind China and the third largest producer of fish via aquaculture, behind China and Indonesia. According to fisheries department reports and other studies that have been reported, the available resources for inland fisheries production is scarcely used and there is tremendous potential to exploit the unused resources. Noting this, the central government has sanctioned thousands of crores (INR) to the fisheries department to initiate work to exploit these resources (Ref).

Working against this brings forward another layer of complexity in the form of the way in which this is advertised – fisheries sector would provide livelihood for million of rural poor to reduce income inequality and to bring people out of poverty. There is only one partially functional authority, the coastal aquaculture authority that is supposed to monitor the aquaculture facilities and its jurisdiction is restricted to coastal aquaculture facilities. With a lack of monitoring/ regulating bodies for aquaculture and the growing trend of aquaculture production combined with an injection of funds from the government into the fisheries sector rings alarm bells of enormous harm that is going to be potentially meted out on fish.

To ensure that this rampant expansion isn’t unchecked, FIAPO is going to be intervening at multiple sites via a variety of stakeholders providing support ranging from academicians, environmental organisations, national and international animal protection organisations, public health professionals and government research institutes involved in husbandry research for the introduction of regulatory and certification bodies.

Advocate work in France

This presentation will detail our strategy and campaigns concerning recreational fishing : the ban on fishing in Paris and the ban on live bait fishing in France.

We will explain the importance of a cultural campaign about the fish sentience, our progress and obstacles both in the political sphere and with public opinion.

Fish welfare unchained? A German experience

The breeding of fish and other aquatic animals is increasing year on year. Trade in foodstuffs from aquaculture has long been global and extended across borders. At the same time, there are rising demands by society for the protection of aquatic animals from avoidable harm and suffering. Can fish welfare be unchained of cross-border economic value?

In Germany, an initiative group of representatives from academia, aquatic animal farming, business, public administration and trade had set up the "Aquaculture Welfare Standards Initiative" (ITA). In addition to producer associations, animal welfare and science, this group already represents around 80% of the German food retail volume, along with the leading aquaculture certification bodies. The ITA is aiming to instigate and lead an industry-wide communication process for the development, drafting and implementation of international animal welfare standards, irrespective of legal requirements. How to forge stakeholders of contrary interests into a unified group, how to break scientific results down-to-earth for daily business on-site of fish farms and how to make farmers happy to improve animal welfare – the first two years of the initiative have raised more questions than they have solved. This presentation will share the essence of what ITA might achieve, and how it works.

Welfare for the 89%: Helping fish in Asian Aquaculture

There are likely more than 100 billion fish alive at any given point in farms. Although significant numbers of fish must be protected around the world, the vast majority (89%) of farmed fish are raised in a single continent: Asia. Over the past year, Fish Welfare Initiative has partnered with local organisations and activists to conduct dozens of farm visits in Vietnam and India to better understand how change can be achieved for fish. This talk will discuss our findings, the work Fish Welfare Initiative is planning in India, and the messaging we believe is most effective. We will conclude with highlighting the opportunities for fish welfare work, both for organisations working in Asia as well as those in the countries to which it exports.

Lobbying the EU Institutions for Fish Welfare

The EU recently initiated a review of all of its farm animal welfare legislation, with the stated intentions of expanding their scope and reflecting current science. Through activities in the Commission, Parliament, and Council in recent years, fish welfare has developed a high profile in the EU aquaculture policy arena and is well placed to be addressed in the anticipated new regulations. Concerted engagement of policy makers throughout the legislative process is necessary to achieve meaningful provisions for fish in the final regulations.

Non-legislative activities at the EU level present further opportunities, including sectoral support and research funding programmes, that should be driving better standards on farms and also reductions in the number of farmed fish. This year will see a new 7 year EU aquaculture policy established which is anticipated to prioritise the development of welfare guidelines and indicators, as well as fish alternatives.

Can we achieve positive welfare for farmed fishes?

Our knowledge of fish welfare is scant and focuses on preventing poor health without typically considering provision of environments conducive to positive experiences. We currently do not understand what individuals of the many different species classified as “fish” need to experience good lives. Informed by terrestrial animal welfare science, we aim to create a more effective framework for scientists to investigate how to provide farmed fishes with positive welfare. We also discuss the hurdles that may prevent scientists from gaining the knowledge necessary for the aquaculture industry to give fishes good lives under financially viable conditions. Finally, we discuss the implications of this knowledge for the animal protection movement.

Can we achieve positive welfare for farmed fishes?

Our knowledge of fish welfare is scant and focuses on preventing poor health without typically considering provision of environments conducive to positive experiences. We currently do not understand what individuals of the many different species classified as “fish” need to experience good lives. Informed by terrestrial animal welfare science, we aim to create a more effective framework for scientists to investigate how to provide farmed fishes with positive welfare. We also discuss the hurdles that may prevent scientists from gaining the knowledge necessary for the aquaculture industry to give fishes good lives under financially viable conditions. Finally, we discuss the implications of this knowledge for the animal protection movement.

Stronger Together: Aquatic Life Institute & The Aquatic Animal Alliance

The Aquatic Life Institute (ALI) was established in 2019 with the mission of accelerating the growth of the aquatic animal rights movement. As aquaculture expands worldwide, the time to act for aquatic animal welfare is now. We believe that one of the best ways to accelerate this work is for our nascent movement to work together. In all of our work, including our research, public education and strategic outreach we strive to be as effective as possible. We know that more collaboration means more impact, so to this end, we created the Aquatic Animal Alliance (AAA). Inspired by the Open Wing Alliance, AAA is a coalition of some of the top animal protection groups working on aquatic animal issues around the world. AAA has already successfully submitted recommendations to some of the world’s leading seafood certifier organisations and will continue to work collaboratively to improve the lives of billions of aquatic animals.

The Promise of Alternative Seafood

What better way to improve fish welfare than to remove fish from the seafood production process altogether? The Good Food Institute’s Sustainable Seafood Initiative is working across business, policy, and science to do just that. In this talk, Jen, who manages GFI's Sustainable Seafood Initiative, will cover an overview of GFI's work on seafood, an introduction to plant-based, fermentation-derived, and cultivated seafood, the current state of the alternative seafood industry around the world, and key opportunities for all stakeholders to continue to advance the industry.