🎨🐟 Donate €5 with just one click and protect aquatic ecosystems!

Improving animal welfare and promoting sustainable food production isn’t something we can do alone. Collaboration, learning from peers and sharing experiences are key to making meaningful change.

Your contribution directly supports farmers and the welfare of hundreds of thousands more animals. Donate at https://ethicalseafoodresearch.com/donate-kenya/.

Nada Habashi recently represented Ethical Seafood Research at a workshop organised by Animal Welfare League in partnership with Mansoura University, Egypt.

🎨🐟 Reminder: You can still support fish welfare through creativity!

As members of the  Freshwater Fish Specialist Group, we want to highlight an upcoming webinar hosted by IUCN Save Our Species, featuring new insights and collaborations in freshwater conservation.

Limited space in aquaculture systems can restrict the natural behaviour of farmed animals. In many production settings, enclosures restrict movement, elevate stress and increase the risk of injury and disease. These factors influence both welfare and overall system performance.

We’ve just wrapped up the first round of field trials for our Harvest Well Egypt project in northern Port Said — testing more humane ‘chill-kill’ slaughter methods for harvested tilapia to improve both fish welfare and post-harvest quality. 🐟🇪🇬

We’re excited to announce our collaboration with Vegesent, an artist-led platform promoting environmentally responsible creativity! 🎨🌊

New work from Animal Ethics is drawing attention to the growing body of evidence on aquatic animal sentience. Seantience, a short documentary directed by Xiana Castro, brings together recent findings on the capacity to feel in both vertebrates and invertebrates.

New analysis from Alianima highlights a clear shift in Brazilian aquaculture: animal welfare is emerging as a strategic issue for the sector, with implications that extend well beyond ethics.

Tilapia farming is growing quickly across Africa – but welfare is often forgotten.

🌊 It’s World Fisheries Day!

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing concern in global food systems – and aquaculture is an important part of that conversation.

When a fish is removed from water for 'harvest', its body doesn't shut down instantly. A recent study in Scientific Reports found that rainbow trout can remain conscious and in moderate to intense pain for up to 22 minutes (on average ~10 min, ranging from 1.9–21.7 min).

A new report from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (@icesmarine.bsky.social) outlines trends in brown crab (Cancer pagurus) fisheries across the Northeast Atlantic. 🦀

Please welcome Santiago Alcubierre to the Ethical Seafood Research family! Santiago's been working with us for over a year, and we thought it was high time to officially bring him on board.

🐟 Can gene technology improve fish welfare? Norway produces roughly half of the world’s farmed Atlantic salmon, but intensive farming comes with serious challenges including welfare.

What does the future of ethical fish farming look like in Europe?

A new report from @oceanaeurope.bsky.social paints a sobering picture of the health of UK seas. Deep Decline: The State of UK Fish Populations 2025 shows that decades of overexploitation continue to threaten marine life and the resilience of our aquatic food systems.

@faunalytics.bsky.social recently released Aquaculture Fundamentals, a concise resource that gives an overview of the major issues in aquaculture.

Faisal Qureshi, ESR's Country Director for Kenya, recently presented at the 3rd Annual International Scientific Conference hosted by the University of Nairobi's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.

As aquaculture continues to expand globally, questions around the origin and sustainability of fish feed have never been more pressing.

A new @fao.org report — International Review of Aquatic Food Systems in the Blue Economy — highlights how fisheries and aquaculture can drive a thriving 'blue economy' that supports food security, livelihoods, climate resilience and economic growth.

We’re excited to highlight AWASH, a new initiative founded by Naveeth Basheer and funded by Animal Advocacy Africa, that is working to improve fish welfare on Ghanaian tilapia farms — reducing mortality and disease by combining local collaboration with evidence-based solutions.

Thank you, Amada Perales Ferrer, for all your incredible work as Head of Operations at Ethical Seafood Research. 💙

Last week, our Egypt Country Director, Mohamed Bakr, attended the 25th Agrena Exhibition at the Cairo International Convention Centre.

We’re excited to introduce AWASH, a new initiative founded by Naveeth Basheer, that is working to improve fish welfare on Ghanaian tilapia farms — reducing mortality and disease by combining local collaboration with evidence-based solutions. 🐟

We’re proud to endorse the Model Seafood Welfare Standard, developed by the Lever Foundation. 🐟🌍

Great news for fish welfare in Scotland 🐟🏴

We’re delighted to welcome Professor Gareth Arnott as the newest member of our Advisory Board, providing support to refine our research direction.

📢 Animal welfare must be central in the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The UN Multi-Stakeholder Partnership Platform on AMR has released a new policy briefing, “Embedding Animal Welfare in the IPEA Mandate: A One Health Imperative for Curbing AMR.”

🔎 Behind the Research We’re thrilled to spotlight the work of Mona Zahir, who’s been contributing to our research this summer alongside her doctoral studies in sociology at @uclacollege.bsky.social.

Today is World Animal Day! 🐟🌍🦁 We stand with organisations worldwide working to ensure all animals are treated with dignity and care.

It is with profound respect and sadness that ESR acknowledges the passing of Dame Jane Goodall. A beacon of conservation, her pioneering work with chimpanzees in Africa proved the sentience, intelligence and complex emotional lives of animals, transforming our understanding of the natural world.

ESR researchers argue that 'harvest' remains the most urgent welfare challenge in aquaculture.

Wasseem Emam (@ethicalseafood.bsky.social) shares what led him to care about farmed fish and surprising facts about Nile tilapia 🐟, a fish from Egypt & one of the most farmed animals in the world. Follow #CelebrateAllAnimals, the countdown to #WorldAnimalDay: ow.ly/VzKH50X3I44

We are delighted to welcome Professor Joyce G. Maina to our Advisory Board for ESR Kenya.

🌊 Ethical Seafood Research extends its congratulations to Dr Paul S. Orina on his appointment as Director General of the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute.

✨ Our Welttierschutz-funded project in Kenya is well underway! Last week, we onboarded over a dozen fish farmers and trained them on the use of operational welfare indicators in aquaculture practices. We also trained them in the use of the FAI Tilapia Welfare App.

Hats off to Urja Thakrar and Andrew Crump from the Royal Veterinary College and Benjamin Lecorps from the University of Bristol (@bristoluni.bsky.social) for a great workshop on Monday!

Many thanks to our friends at Fish Welfare Initiative (FWI) for highlighting our work in their recent newsletter, alongside the other organisations working diligently to improve the lives of aquatic animals! We're grateful for the shout-out and the kind words by co-founder Haven King-Nobles.

We had a great time at the 9th annual meeting of the Animal Welfare Research Network conference in Bristol last week!

Introducing the talented John Nyambane, one of our collaborators in charge of the Welttierschutz-funded project on the use of technology in improving Kenyan aquaculture practices.

Congratulations to our dedicated Egypt Country Director, Mohamed Bakr, on recently tying the knot!

Congratulations to our dedicated Egypt Country Director, Mohamed Bakr, on recently tying the knot!

This week we say goodbye to the brilliant Alexandria Beck. Alexandria brought over a decade of experience in management, leadership & grant programme administration to Ethical Seafood Research.

We’re looking forward to presenting our report on the animal protection landscape in Egypt at @faunalytics.bsky.social' 4th Annual Fauna Connections remote symposium later this month.

🌊 We’re thrilled to welcome Nada Habashi to our Egypt-based ESR team!

🌊 Be sure to join the first public webinar organised by the Aquaculture Advisory Council: 🔓 Unlocking EU Aquaculture Potential with Good Husbandry Practices  📅 30 September 2025 | 🕐 13:00–15:25 CET