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— About Us / Our Impact

Changing Systems. Improving Lives. At Scale.

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How we create impact

our 2024 ACE evaluation ➔

We believe the most scalable and durable improvements for aquatic life come from upstream influence.

They’re made in the policies governments adopt, the standards industries follow, and the expectations companies demand. Especially in a sector as vast, global, and under-regulated as aquatic animal production, upstream levers such as standards and policy have the potential to improve conditions for orders of magnitude more animals, faster. 

Our role is to create enabling conditions so that on-the-ground improvements can take root, spread, and endure. We work where the rules are written and incentives set, turning better practice from exception to norm.

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— NOW AVAILABLE

2025 Annual Report

Check out Aquatic Life Institute’s 2025 Annual Report to explore key case studies and learn more about our theory of change

Access Report ➔
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Aquatic Life Institute’s Theory of Change

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Aquatic animal welfare is recognized, protected, and prioritized in the global food system.

We measure systems change in our work by capturing how our upstream influence on policies, standards, and market actors drives external outcomes, such as:

  • a certification standard being revised and strengthened

  • policy language being introduced or strengthened

  • a corporate sourcing requirement being adopted or updated

Changing outcomes for aquatic animals at scale requires changing the nature of these systems - and creating new outcomes. We work to create fundamental shifts - influencing the policies, standards, and market forces that define what welfare considerations include across entire industries.

We track systems change through three strategic indicators: Recognition, Protection, and Prioritization (RPP). This stage-based understanding of systemic transformation allows us to track how welfare progresses from visibility, to formal safeguards, to being embedded as a decision-making priority across institutions. This framing captures the cumulative nature of our activities.

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Recognition:

Making aquatic welfare visible and legitimate in global dialogues

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Protection:

Converting welfare norms into formal standards and laws

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Prioritization:

Embedding welfare into high-level decisions

Our Key Impact Metrics

We work where these systems are actively defined and updated:

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Certification Systems Impact

Animal welfare is translated into production requirements that apply across global supply chains

Corporate Procurement Systems Impact

Sourcing requirements determine aquatic animal welfare considerations that suppliers must implement in practice

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Policy and Regulatory Processes Impact

Animal welfare is formalized into law, guidance, and governance frameworks
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Coalition and Multi-stakeholder Impact

Alignment and pressure influence whether changes are adopted and sustained

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Evidence of Upstream Influence

Explore Impact Highlights from Our Blog

Visit the Blog ➔
Blog
From Metrics to Welfare: Rethinking Blue Food Innovation
From Metrics to Welfare: Rethinking Blue Food Innovation

At the Blue Food Innovation Summit in London this year, aquatic animals were present throughout the conversation, though often in indirect ways. They appeared through questions about production, efficiency, disease, and risk: all issues that matter deeply to the future of aquaculture. But those questions do not always lead to a more direct one: What are these systems like for the animals living inside them?

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Seafood Expo Global 2026: Aquatic Animal Welfare Moves into the ESG Mainstream
Seafood Expo Global 2026: Aquatic Animal Welfare Moves into the ESG Mainstream

At this year’s Seafood Expo Global in Barcelona, one thing was clear: aquatic animal welfare is rapidly emerging as a core component of ESG in the seafood sector.

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Animal Welfare at the Center of Conversations at Seafood North America (SENA)
Animal Welfare at the Center of Conversations at Seafood North America (SENA)

Through our conversations at SENA, it's clear that industry actors recognize the relevance of aquatic animal welfare. Questions are arising, and many companies are still looking for the right roadmap to adopt and implement meaningful change.

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ALI's Vision to Create Systems-Level Change Through Corporate Engagement
ALI's Vision to Create Systems-Level Change Through Corporate Engagement

Over the past 3 years, we have witnessed unprecedented growth in corporate welfare commitments for aquatic animals. Worldwide, retailers, producers, and other market actors are increasingly recognizing that aquatic animal welfare is a central pillar to achieve a more resilient, high-quality, and ethical supply chain.

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Legal Voices Back Preventive Approach to Octopus Farming: NYC Bar Association Endorses Federal OCTOPUS Act
Legal Voices Back Preventive Approach to Octopus Farming: NYC Bar Association Endorses Federal OCTOPUS Act

The Committee’s endorsement signals a growing consensus that industrial octopus farming is not compatible with responsible ocean stewardship or with current understandings of cephalopod cognition and welfare.

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