FAO Elevates Aquatic Animal Welfare

Aquatic Life Institute has been highly involved with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in contributing to their revision of the Guidelines for Sustainable Aquaculture as well as the Shanghai Declaration, a high level global policy paper and road map to optimize the role that aquaculture can play in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 

We are thrilled to announce that not only did the FAO incorporate our feedback in elevating aquatic animal welfare’s importance in the final draft of the Shanghai Declaration, they invited us to speak at the Global Conference on Aquaculture Millennium + 20 (GCA +20), where over 500 people were in attendance in Shanghai, China while over 800 people were attending virtually from around the world! This is truly a testament to our sustained advocacy efforts and a turning point in how the highest international institutions regard aquatic animals.

Christine Xu, Head of Strategic Partnerships talks at the FAO event

The Shanghai Declaration

The GCA +20 is organized every 10 years by the FAO, a major conference to establish a consensus among policy-makers around the world on aquaculture development priorities. This year, a key output was the creation of the Shanghai Declaration. Whereas the early draft included only one reference to aquatic animal welfare as it relates to biosecurity and disease prevention:

“Promoting aquatic biosecurity protocols and management agreements, including prevention of disease and integrated disease and pest management, and encourage measures to improve fish health and welfare.”

The final draft added a entirely new clause on aquatic animal welfare based on our feedback:

Our feedback: Add “Recognizing that developing aquaculture sustainably and equitably requires taking a holistic approach -- one that values both human and animal health and welfare. Considerations given to aquatic animal welfare is key to maintaining healthy immune systems while minimizing the negative environmental and social impacts of aquaculture, including damaging the ecosystem and jeopardizing long-term food security.”

Final version: “Recognizing that developing aquaculture sustainably and equitably requires a holistic approach that values both human and animal health and welfare and further recognizing that aquaculture activities should be conducted in a manner that assures the health and welfare of farmed aquatic animals, by optimizing health through minimizing stress, reducing aquatic animal disease risks and maintaining a healthy culture environment at all phases of the production cycle.”

Further, besides urging for the FAO to elevate aquatic animal welfare in their draft Shanghai Declaration, another main point we raised in our feedback was that while fish can provide a nutritious diet for local fishing and vulnerable communities whose livelihoods depend on fish, it is not a sustainable protein alternative for the masses, particularly not on intensive aquaculture production levels. In the final draft, the Shanghai Declaration made it clear that aquaculture needs to be developed in a manner that is not detrimental to planetary, human and animal health:

“At the same time, to feed an ever-growing human population, expected to reach almost 10 billion people by 2050, aquaculture development needs to continue its expansion while becoming more sustainable. Recognizing that the capacity of aquaculture for further growth, and also the need to avoid that such growth comes at the cost of deteriorating ecosystem health, animal welfare standards, biodiversity loss, or social inequalities, the aquaculture sector demands new, sustainable, and equitable development strategies. The private sector will remain the main actor in aquaculture production, and substantial public sector support and strong leadership will also be necessary with input and guidance from government and civil society playing essential roles in regulating aquaculture, and in supporting and promoting citizens’ views, participation and Benefits.”

Historically, aquatic animals have been neglected in welfare advocacy and research. Even at the highest levels of society, their sentience is rarely recognized and their welfare is rarely taken into consideration. Now, for the first time, the FAO has issued high level guidelines that include aquatic animal welfare, which will influence the development of aquaculture for the next decade.