A year of growth, impact and momentum for aquatic animal welfare.
2025 was ESR’s biggest year yet. Our work gained traction in multiple countries, we strengthened our research and policy influence, and we deepened partnerships that reshape how aquatic animals are treated across Africa and beyond.
Here are the moments that defined our year.
1. Transforming practice on farms
Egypt and Kenya continued to lead the way.
• Our farm-based welfare assessment work hit new milestones, with ongoing training and farm support driving improved welfare outcomes for hundreds of thousands of fish, and better production performance across hundreds of farms in the region.
• Major pilots on behavioural change and on-farm water quality monitoring kicked off in Egypt, marking a shift towards routine record-keeping in the sector.
• In Kenya, we rolled out the region’s first major programme introducing digital farm assessments through the government’s county extension teams.
These upgrades to everyday farm practice are now influencing conversations on standards, certification and policy.
2. Big wins in policy and systems change
This was the year ESR’s voice was heard at new tables.
• The Zanzibar Aquaculture Development Strategy 2025–2038, co-developed with government partners, was officially adopted as national policy. It’s now the foundation for ethical, climate-smart aquaculture in the archipelago.
• ESR contributed to global consultations, including responses to the FAO Sustainable Aquaculture Guidelines and ongoing engagement with the African Union’s InterAfrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), setting the stage for stronger African leadership on fish welfare.
• Multiple MoUs were formalised across Egypt, Kenya and the wider region, signalling growing institutional demand for ethical, science-based aquaculture.
3. Partnerships that shift markets
We built the kind of alliances that change how aquatic foods are produced, verified and sourced.
• Partnerships with major feed companies, processors and distributors in Egypt strengthened market incentives for humane, responsible tilapia farming.
• A new collaboration with Lawyers for Animal Protection in Africa is bringing legal and scientific pathways together to embed animal welfare into African aquatic food systems.
• Our work expanded into the caviar sector with support from the Joanna Toole Foundation, opening a new frontier for welfare improvements.
• We launched a new line of work examining seaweed farming as an alternative livelihood that reduces reliance on farming sentient aquatic animals.
Our partners now include ministries, universities, NGOs, farmer associations, international research networks and industry leaders across more than ten countries.
4. Research and thought leadership
2025 was a breakout year for ESR-led science.
• Our tilapia welfare review was published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
• New peer-reviewed papers came out on tilapia health, aquaculture practices and welfare awareness.
• ESR research was featured at UFAW, WAVMA, the Africa Animal Welfare Conference, the AVA Summit, the World Aquaculture Society and many others.
• We co-developed the Intro to Fish Welfare module with VETS UNITED, now being used globally to equip vets and animal health professionals with aquatic welfare basics.
• We were commissioned to author a new textbook on animal welfare in aquaculture, a major contribution to the field that is set for publication in 2027.
Our evidence base is helping shape both policy and practice.
5. Growing global recognition
It didn’t go unnoticed.
• ESR received the Corporate Livewire Innovation & Excellence Award for Animal Welfare NPO of the Year.
• We were proud to have been selected for Animal Charity Evaluators’ 2025 evaluation cohort.
• ESR was granted special accreditation to participate in a number of high profile UN events in 2025.
• We were invited to speak across Africa, Europe and Asia, with talks ranging from humane slaughter to One Welfare approaches in aquaculture.
6. A stronger ESR team and community
To scale our impact, we grew our leadership and technical capacity.
• We welcomed new Advisory Board members including global experts in animal law, fish policy, shrimp welfare, feed systems and African veterinary leadership.
• ESR Spain secured non-profit status, strengthening our operational footing and funding pathways within the EU.
• ESR Kenya is now officially registered as a charitable entity, expanding our ability to deliver and scale programmes across East Africa, with Egypt close behind.
• Our Kenya and Egypt teams expanded with new research and programme talent.
People power is becoming one of our strongest assets.
7. Raising awareness and opening new conversations
• We published ESR’s first children’s book, the Underwater Explorers & Rescuers colouring and activity book, now available on Amazon. It’s our first public education resource aimed at nurturing early empathy for aquatic animals and widening the reach of fish welfare beyond the usual technical audiences.
• We hosted and moderated panels on humane slaughter, One Health, One Welfare and regenerative aquaculture, expanding conversations around ethical aquaculture in Africa and globally.
• ESR featured on leading podcasts and media channels, helping bring aquatic animal welfare into mainstream sustainability discussions.
This year felt like a shift in how people talk about fish. From vets to policymakers to farmers to families, more communities are engaging with aquatic animal welfare than ever before.
Looking ahead
2026 will be about deepening what we started:
• Scaling humane harvest work
• Piloting certification pathways
• Strengthening policy traction in Kenya, Egypt and Tanzania
• Exploring how seaweed farming can be promoted within our main countries of operation as a sustainable, welfare-positive alternative in coastal aquaculture
• Working with Nigerian researchers to introduce humane practices in catfish farming
• Expanding our evidence base through new research
• Bringing animal welfare into mainstream sustainability conversations around ‘blue foods’
Thank you to everyone who supported, partnered with or believed in this work. We’re just getting started.
