Fish Welfare

Fish Welfare Project

Science for Better Fish Welfare

Since 2017, we have been working to improve the welfare of fish, both farmed and wild-caught, by turning scientific research into practical, real-world certification standards.

The Fish Welfare Project, developed under the World Sustainability Foundation (WSF) and in connection with Friend of the Sea, is supported by Open Philanthropy, now Coefficient Giving.
Our goal is simple and ambitious:
to understand what to do — and what not to do — to ensure the highest possible level of fish welfare.

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Why Fish Welfare Matters

Every year, billions of fish are farmed or caught for human consumption.
Today, science clearly shows that fish are sentient beings, capable of feeling pain and stress.

Improving fish welfare means:

 

  • reducing suffering and stress
  • improving product quality
  • increasing supply chain sustainability
  • offering greater transparency to consumers

Fish welfare is not only an ethical issue: it is a new frontier of sustainable seafood.

One Project, Two Key Areas

The Fish Welfare Project is structured around two main programs

1 – Fish Welfare in Aquaculture

In collaboration with Fair Fish and Fish Etho Group, we developed:

  • 24 species-specific fish welfare standards
  • Audit guidance document

These tools are used to:

  • assess the welfare of farmed fish
  • identify critical welfare risks
  • certify aquaculture companies adopting best practices

View Aquaculture Fish Welfare Standards

 

 2- Fish Welfare in Fisheries

In collaboration with Fair Fish and Fish Etho Group, we developed:In collaboration with CCMAR, Fair Fish, Fish Etho Group, and Demos (CareFish Catch project), we developed five fish welfare certification standards, applicable to both artisanal fishing and large fleets globally, based on fishing methods:

  • Purse Seine
  • Longline
  • Pole & Line
  • Pots & Traps
  • Gillnet & Trammel Net

Each standard is supported by its own audit guidance.

These standards help:

  • reduce stress and physical harm to caught fish
  • improve handling and capture practices
  • promote more humane fishing methods

From Research to Action

The project has now entered a new operational phase.

Thanks to the support of Coefficient Giving, we are:

  • testing the standards in real-world conditions
  • collecting field data from aquaculture farms and fishing fleets
  • certifying companies
  • testing equipment and materials to improve fish welfare
  • analysing results
  • consumer awareness
  • testing the standards in real-world conditions
  • collecting field data from aquaculture farms and fishing fleets
  • certifying companies
  • testing equipment and materials to improve fish welfare
  • analysing results
  • raising consumer awareness

Over the next three years, we aim to make fish welfare a concrete, measurable, and internationally recognised practice within the seafood industry.

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Want to learn more? Keep reading below!

Fish Welfare Project: Science at the Service of Fish Welfare

Since 2017, we have been developing one of the most ambitious and innovative sustainability projects in the seafood sector: improving the welfare of farmed and wild-caught fish through a rigorous scientific approach and real-world solutions.

The Fish Welfare Project is developed under the World Sustainability Foundation (WSF) and in close connection with Friend of the Sea, one of the world’s leading seafood sustainability certification programmes.

The project has been supported since its inception by Open Philanthropy, now Coefficient Giving, one of the world’s leading philanthropic organisations focused on evidence-based, high-impact interventions.

Our guiding principle is simple:

To use science to determine what should and should not be done to ensure the highest possible level of fish welfare across the entire seafood supply chain.

Why Fish Welfare Is Important

For decades, sustainability standards focused mainly on:

  • overfishing
  • stock management
  • environmental impacts

Fish welfare was largely ignored.

Today, scientific evidence shows that fish:

  • are sentient
  • experience pain and stress
  • respond to handling, crowding, water quality, and capture methods

Improving fish welfare is not only an ethical responsibility.
It also leads to:

  • better product quality
  • lower mortality and losses
  • improved food safety
  • higher consumer trust
  • stronger ESG performance for companies

Fish Welfare in Aquaculture

This programme focuses on the welfare of farmed fish.

It was developed in collaboration with

  • Fair Fish
  • Fish Etho Group

 

  • Fair Fish
  • Fish Etho Group

What we did

  • Reviewed scientific literature on fish behaviour, physiology, and welfare needs
  • Identified key welfare indicators and risk factors
  • Defined measurable and verifiable criteria
  • Translated science into operational certification standards

The result

  • 24 species-specific fish welfare standards
  • Audit guidance document

These standards allow:

  • objective assessment of welfare conditions
  • certification of best-performing farms
  • continuous improvement based on data

Fish Welfare in Fisheries

This programme focuses on fish caught at sea.

It was developed in collaboration with:

 

  • CCMAR
  • Fair Fish
  • Fish Etho Group
  • Demos

A different approach

In fisheries, welfare is mainly determined by:

  • fishing gear
  • capture technique
  • handling and processing time

After more than four years of research, we adopted a method-based approach.

The result

Five fish welfare certification standards:

  • Purse Seine
  • Longline
  • Pole & Line
  • Pots & Traps
  • Pots & Gillnet & Trammel Net

Each standard is supported by its own audit guidance.

They allow:

  • assessment of stress, injuries, and recovery time
  • identification of lower-impact fishing practices
  • promotion of more humane capture methods

Field Testing and Data Collection

In recent months, the project entered a critical validation phase.

We launched on-site field tests at:

  • aquaculture farms
  • fishing vessels and fleets

What we are doing

  • collecting real-world welfare data
  • applying the standards under operational conditions
  • testing feasibility and reliability
  • identifying areas for improvement

This phase ensures that the standards are:

  • scientifically robust
  • operationally realistic
  • scalable at the industry level

The Next Three Years

Thanks to renewed funding from Coefficient Giving, the project is entering a major expansion phase.

Planned activities

Over the next three years, we will focus on:

  • expanding field tests
  • certifying aquaculture farms and fisheries
  • testing new equipment and materials
  • analysing welfare data
  • continuously improving the standards
  • raising consumer awareness

Our Role: From Science to Standards

Our role across both programmes has been — and remains — to:

Translate scientific research into concrete, measurable, and applicable fish welfare certification standards.

Our goal is to make fish welfare:

  • verifiable
  • certifiable
  • market-recognised
  • accessible to companies and consumers

An Ongoing Project

The Fish Welfare Project is a continuously evolving process.

Science advances.
Practices improve.
Standards are updated.

Our commitment is to:

  • remain science-based
  • collaborate with leading international experts
  • work with seafood companies
  • inform consumers
  • continuously raise the bar for animal welfare in seafood.
  • raising consumer awareness

Interested in Fish Welfare Certification?

Discover our standards, apply for certification, or join the Fish Welfare Project.

What we are doing

The definition of fish welfare can be described as follows: the state of the individual as it copes with the environment. This definition of welfare has several implications: 

  • Welfare is a characteristic of an animal, not something that is given to it;
  • Welfare will vary from very poor to very good, i.e. the individual may be in a poor state at one end of the welfare continuum or in a good state at the other,
  • Welfare can be measured objectively and independently of moral considerations;
  • Measures of failure to cope and measures of how difficult it is for an animal to cope both give information about how poor the welfare is;
  • Knowledge of the preferences of an animal often gives valuable information about what conditions are likely to result in good welfare, but direct measurements of the state of the animal must also be used in attempts to assess welfare and improve it;
  • Animals may use a variety of methods when trying to cope.

Aquaculture or the farming of aquatic organisms including fish, molluscs and crustaceans, implies some sort of intervention in the rearing process in order to enhance production, for example regular stocking, feeding, protection from predators etc. It is for this reason therefore that the issue of fish welfare is an important and current concern and fish welfare can be measured using a number of fish welfare indicators. In 2017 Friend of the Sea started a collaboration with a Swiss research group, Fair Fish, which, thanks to a generous funding from Open Philanthropy, launched the fish welfare initiative – a scientific research project whose aim was to improve fish welfare.

To carry out this project, Friend of the Sea organised field visits by researchers to its certified farms for aquaculture products, where researchers collected and analysed data on farms, and extrapolated the parameters that were finally used to create 24 species-specific checklists.

The scientific approach, the field visits and the invaluable support of the Friend of the Sea certified companies were fundamental in achieving this goal.

Friend of the Sea will shortly begin the revision process to approve these new checklists.

Any stakeholder is invited to provide comments during this incoming revision process.