120 Billion Fish are suffering, and We Have a Solution

Your donation will help fund science-based solutions that transform entire aquaculture systems, improving the life of billions of fish and farmers.

120 Billion Fish Suffer in Silence Every Year

The hidden crisis in our food system that affects more animals than any other

The scale of this suffering is almost incomprehensible, yet it remains largely invisible to consumers and policymakers.

In typical fish farms, thousands of fish are crammed into barren ponds and cages, swimming in their own waste with oxygen levels so low they gasp at the surface. Disease spreads rapidly in these overcrowded conditions. During harvest, fish are often left to suffocate slowly in air or thrown into ice water while still conscious, deaths that can take up to an hour of intense suffering.

Why is fish welfare so overlooked? Unlike mammals, fish don't scream or show facial expressions we recognize. They live underwater, out of sight. Many people still wrongly believe fish don't feel pain, despite decades of scientific evidence proving otherwise. This combination of invisibility and misunderstanding means fish receive less than 1% of animal welfare funding, despite representing 95% of farmed animals.

We’re proud to announce

Science-Based Research That Transform Entire Systems

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At least 260 million fishes directly helped and many more wild fishes indirectly positively affected.

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Of Kenyan aquaculture has been reached by our work.

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Of Egyptian aquaculture has been reached by our work.

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Farms assessed and had conditions improved.

Ethical Seafood Research in the field

We don't just rescue individual fish, we transform the systems that affect millions.

Through our research-backed welfare assessments, farmer training programmes, and policy advocacy, we create lasting change that benefits the entire aquaculture.

In Egypt, we've watched farmers transform their operations from desperate fish gasping at the surface to thriving populations swimming in cleaner water. We've implemented the FAI Tilapia Welfare App that allows farmers to assess nutrition, health, behaviour, and environment using scientifically-backed welfare indicators, but technology alone isn't enough. We work alongside farmers in their ponds, showing them how reducing stress doesn't just save fish lives, it saves their livelihoods too, as healthier fish mean fewer disease outbreaks and higher survival rates.

Wasseem Emam leads ethical change in African aquaculture

John Nyambane, ethical seafood research, Kenya. field work image 3

John Nyambane, ethical seafood research, Kenya. field work image 5

ESR team members standing beside net-covered tilapia pond — Ethical Seafood Research

John Nyambane, ethical seafood research, Kenya. field work image 1

Men talking around a table with a banner that says "Tilapia Welfare Egypt" on the background

Participants netting tilapia during harvest demonstration at lined pond in Egypt

ESR team standing together in the shallow lagoon at a Zanzibar seaweed farm (April 2024)

Wasseem Emam transferring live tilapia from net into bucket during pond harvest

John Nyambane, ethical seafood research, Kenya. field work image 4

John Nyambane, ethical seafood research, Kenya. field work image 2

Group photo of ESR team with Egyptian aquaculture experts during field visit

ESR aquaculture researchers weighing shrimp samples during lab meeting

Testimonials

I had the pleasure of working with Wasseem on a European Parliamentary study in China and I cannot speak highly enough of his expertise and dedication to the project. His research, analysis and recommendations were comprehensive and insightful and his ability to communicate complex issues in a clear manner was outstanding.

I worked with Wasseem and his team on the production of some high-level policy documents. They were accurate and effective, and even went the extra mile to ensure the final product was up to the highest standard. I look forward to working with them again.

We were very pleased by the quality and delivery of service provided by Wasseem. He is a passionate ocean professional whose expertise adds real value to our work and we hope to continue working together in future.

I found Wasseem to be enthusiastic and responsive to our requirements

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Monthly donors are the backbone of our work, providing the reliable funding we need to plan long-term interventions and expand to new countries. Even $10/month improves life for thousands of fish annually.