Aquaculture is the fastest-growing food production sector in the world, with its growth driven by protein demand, scientific progress, technological innovations and investment.
However, meeting demand with sustainable supply is proving tricky. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recently released Guidelines for Sustainable Aquaculture in response to the rapid expansion of the industry, but these “fail to sufficiently address animal welfare”, according to Ethical Seafood Research (ESR), an organisation focusing on better welfare and conservation in aquaculture and fisheries.
The GSA were drafted by consensus through a global consultative process spanning eight years. They are pitched as a set of shared and agreed principles and practices that “all countries and stakeholders can use to make their aquaculture sectors synonymous with food security and nutrition, equitable livelihoods, restored ecosystems, and climate resilience”, according to the FAO.
Their introduction is timely: last year the FAO confirmed that aquaculture production of aquatic animals surpassed wild fisheries for the first time. But some feel expansion of farmed fish has come at the expense of animal welfare.
“Although the guidelines encompass a broad range of topics, including governance, resource management, and social responsibility, they contain limited information on the specific welfare needs of aquatic animals,” wrote ESR on a social media post, adding: “With the growing recognition of aquatic animal sentience, we encourage future versions of the guidelines to include a lot more detail on how factors like water quality, crowding, feed, disease, and slaughter impact both animal welfare and product quality on a species specific level.”
The GSA also neglect emerging behavioural research: the recognition of pain perception in fish necessitates the adoption of humane slaughter methods, a topic that is not sufficiently covered in the guidelines, said ESR.
ESR also said there is “insufficient detail” on handling and other stressful practices and too much emphasis on production efficiency. “The document places significant emphasis on enhancing production efficiency and sustainability. While these goals are important, prioritising them without equally emphasising health and welfare considerations can result in practices that compromise the wellbeing of fish,” said ESR. For example, high stocking densities aimed at maximising yield can lead to stress, disease, and poor health and welfare outcomes, the organisation added.
Global fisheries and aquaculture production reached 223.2 million tonnes in 2022, with aquaculture and wild fisheries accounting for 130.9 and 92.3 million tonnes respectively.