The University of Stirling has secured more than £2 million in funding from Open Philanthropy, for a project aimed at improving the welfare of farmed fish in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.
The funded project expands the research from a previous Open Philanthropy funded scheme to include Indonesia and promote development of the Asia Fish Welfare Network. Previous work concentrated on improving the knowledge and interest of stakeholders throughout farmed fish value chains, the stages involved in bringing fish from production on farms to consumers, in countries where it is an important part of the diet and there are some of the largest concentrations of farmed fish and shellfish in the world
“Across Asia there are serious welfare issues that affect millions of aquatic animals and there is an urgent need to drive change,” said project leader Professor Dave Little, Deputy Head of the Institute of Aquaculture. “In addition, there is very little awareness about the importance of improving the situation, and we believe that projects such as this can help to change that.
“Understanding consumer and other stakeholders’ perceptions is critical to improving practices throughout the value chain, by identifying and targeting areas that could improve welfare the most. In the first project, we identified harvest through to slaughter as being critical points where practice could most effectively be improved.”
Researchers work on the ground with local fish farmers across the region.
“The team has prioritised building and supporting local fish welfare research communities in Thailand and Vietnam, and has partnered with industry and policymakers to maximise the chances that the fish welfare improvements resulting from their work are taken up sustainably,” Michelle Lavery, Program Associate, Farm Animal Welfare at Open Philanthropy. “This kind of field-building and industry-facing groundwork is important for fish welfare now and into the future.”
The new grant will be used to manage research studies in the target countries on areas of fish welfare, from practical and biological aspects to social and economic factors. It will support the development of workshops and outreach activities involving academics and practitioners working in aquaculture as well as expanding exchange and mentorship programs to build networks and institutional capacity. It will also be used to support six Masters students from Vietnam, Thailand or Indonesia to take a fully funded course at the University of Stirling’s Institute of Aquaculture, harnessing and growing the potential of local talent to continue work in this area into the future.
