1. The Alliance for Responsible Aquaculture (ARA)

FWI runs the ARA, a voluntary program where local farmers commit to meeting specific water quality and stocking density standards. This ensures fish have cleaner water* and more space to express natural behaviors. In exchange, farmers receive guidance on how to best care for their fishes. The ARA is based in India – the world’s 3rd largest farmed seafood producing nation – in the state of Andhra Pradesh, where 70% of the country’s shrimp are farmed and fish are farmed at a large enough scale to be visible from space. Currently, over 120 farmers are in the alliance, collectively raising ~5.8 million fish at a time.

Key activities include:

• Recruiting new farmers to join the alliance.

• Educating farmers on better farm management for fish health and welfare.

• Conducting water quality measurements at member farms to ensure standards are met.

• Recommending corrective actions for farms that do not meet requirements, such as using aerators to oxygenate the water or changing fish feed to improve water quality.

* Poor water quality is believed to be the biggest welfare issue facing farmed fish, with common levels of pollution being equivalent to living in far worse smog than our most polluted cities and common low levels of dissolved oxygen meaning that fish live their lives struggling to breathe

2. Scoping New Regions (e.g. China and the Philippines) 

FWI is exploring ways to expand its impact on farmed fish welfare into other countries, aiming for scalable and cost-effective solutions. 

• They have spent ~3 years exploring China, home to 65% of the world’s farmed fish production. Animal welfare is a nascent field in China, especially when it comes to fish, and so FWI’s work involves working with local partners to build a knowledge base on fish welfare in the Chinese context and fostering collaboration among stakeholders by co-hosting forums and partnering with relevant organizations. and so, FWI works with local partners to build knowledge for fish welfare in Chinese contexts. See more on their work in China here.

• They have scoped the Philippines, the world’s 8th largest fish farming nation, with 4x industry growth since 1980 and significant welfare issues (e.g. FWI has observed >80% mortality rates on farms they visited due to preventable diseases). They have conducted seminars on best practices with government agencies and NGOs, engaged with local farmers, and facilitated forums to empower farmers to improve welfare standards, resulting in the formation of the Carmen Fishcage Association. See more on their work in the Phillipines here.

3. Research and Development Department

FWI’s R&D department conduct primary research, looking for even better ways to improve the lives of farmed fish. FOne current project is studying the use of satellite imagery and artificial intelligence to assess water quality on farms. This technology could enable FWI to monitor compliance with ARA standards more efficiently and at a larger scale.

• Pioneering efforts in the charity sector to improve the lives of farmed aquatic animals, normalizing this work and inspiring other charities to develop similar programs.

• Improving the lives of 3.2 million fish and shrimp over the last 3 years through the Alliance for Responsible Aquaculture.

• Identifying almost 1300 instances of farms not meeting welfare standards, with 90% of these cases seeing corrective measures executed, leading to improved water quality 90% of the time.