Fish Farming Has More Than Doubled in the Last Twelve Years, Report Reveals

EAT

Feb 10

With 124 billion fish farmed each year, advocates are calling for new welfare legislation to help offer these aquatic animals some protections.

The scale of the rise of intensive aquatic farming has been revealed by a new study that shows the number of farmed fish has more than doubled over the last twelve years, prompting urgent calls for new fish welfare legislation.

Globally, 124 billion farmed fish were slaughtered in 2019, up from 61 billion in 2007, according to the study - Estimating global numbers of farmed fishes killed for food annually from 1990 to 2019 – published yesterday in the Animal Welfare journal.

Researchers said the total number of fish farmed is likely to be much higher because many die during rearing. Between 70 - 72 percent of farmed fish have no legal protection, while less than one percent have any species-specific legal protection at slaughter. Campaign group Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) said the findings show a need for strong welfare regulations.

“This new study reveals a massive increase in the number of farmed fish slaughtered over a 30 year period and highlights the urgent need for legislation to protect their welfare,” said CIWF’s Research and Education Manager, Phil Brooke, who co-wrote the report with lead author, Alison Mood, of fish sentience and awareness project, Fishcount.

“It shows that around 124 billion individual fish are now slaughtered each year. These are sentient creatures who not only feel pain and experience fear but also experience a range of emotions. There are now more farmed fishes than farmed birds and mammals yet most farmed fish have no species-specific legal protection at all and this must be addressed.”

The findings estimate that farmed fish now outnumber the 80 billion farmed birds and mammals killed globally each year for food, with the majority of fish farmed and slaughtered in Asia.

What About Fishing?

Around 55 percent of the ocean is covered by commercial fishing, with an estimated 2.7 trillion wild fish slaughtered annually. This industry is polluting the oceans, threatening delicate ecosystems, and plundering the homes of aquatic animals.

Combined, the fish farming and fishing industries are responsible for slaughtering over 2.82 trillion fish every year. That number doesn’t include the 38 million tonnes of sea creatures caught as bycatch annually.

The farming of some species of fish, those which are carnivorous, such as salmon, trout, sea bass and sea bream, is also problematic due to the demand it creates for wild caught fish.

“To grow one average salmon to maturity can mean up to 35,022 smaller fish being caught in the wild and used as feed,” reports CIWF. “All of these ‘feed fish’ deserve to have their welfare protected too, but currently they are being ignored by the fish farming industry. Almost all wild caught fish suffer a slow and excruciating death when pulled out of the water.”

Alongside advocating to welfare legislation for farmed fish, CIWF is also encouraging people to help animals by choosing to eat plant-based foods.

Everyone from the world's largest food giants to tech-savvy startups are jumping on board to help develop sustainable plant-based replacements for fish and crustaceans. Check out some of our favorites here.

We Have A Favor To Ask…

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At this crucial moment, with worldwide momentum for change building, it’s vital we share these animal-free solutions with the world - and we need your help.

We’re a nonprofit, and so to keep sharing these solutions, we’re relying on you - with your support, we can continue our essential work in growing a powerful community of animal advocates this year.

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