Ethical Seafood Research

Ethical Seafood Research ESR offers research services for fisheries, aquaculture, marine conservation and animal welfare.

Putting animals back into Scotland’s Animal Health and Welfare Act. Last week, ESR’s Head of Programmes, Wasseem Emam, j...
07/10/2026

Putting animals back into Scotland’s Animal Health and Welfare Act.

Last week, ESR’s Head of Programmes, Wasseem Emam, joined peers at the Scottish Parliament for an event marking the 20th anniversary of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006.

Hosted by Emma Roddick MSP and organised by The Animal Law Foundation, the event provided an opportunity to reflect on the gap between the protections outlined in the Act and how these are interpreted and applied in practice.

The evening included contributions from Mike Radford OBE, Cathy Dwyer from the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission and Kirsty Jenkins from OneKind, alongside wider discussions on the future of animal protection in Scotland.

As the Act marks 20 years, the evening was a valuable opportunity to consider what meaningful animal protection looks like in practice and the work still needed to ensure legal protections translate into real-world outcomes.

Thank you to The Animal Law Foundation and Emma Roddick MSP for bringing everyone together for such a timely and important discussion, and to Edie Bowles and Henry Mould for inviting ESR to be part of it.

06/10/2026

Help us improve the lives of aquatic animals across the Global South! 🐟

At ESR, we’re working to improve the welfare of billions of farmed aquatic animals through practical, science-based approaches.

From researching potential welfare improvements and developing welfare monitoring tools to training farmers and contributing to policy and industry discussions, our work aims to turn evidence into practical change for animals.

This October, you can help us continue that work by nominating us for Movement for Good’s Animals & Wildlife draw. Just a few minutes of your time could help us win £5,000.

🔗 Use our pre-filled form to nominate ESR today: https://buff.ly/75sw89b
🗓️ Nominations close Sunday 18th October.

Every nomination counts. 🐟

What does better welfare look like for one of aquaculture’s fastest-growing sectors?Join us on Wednesday 28th October fo...
05/10/2026

What does better welfare look like for one of aquaculture’s fastest-growing sectors?

Join us on Wednesday 28th October for our interactive webinar exploring the current state of shrimp welfare research, the challenges facing the industry and what’s being done to address them.

Featuring insights from:

🔹 Ben Sturgeon (Crustacean Compassion)
🔹 Nicola Khan (Ace Aquatec)
🔹 Cian Greene (Arthropoda Foundation)
🔹 Mohamed Bakr (Ethical Seafood Research)

Together, we’ll explore how shrimp are farmed across different production systems, why welfare research is increasingly important, what we know (and don’t yet know) about welfare indicators and enrichment, and the challenges surrounding transport and slaughter.

📅 Wednesday 28th October 2026
🕒 11:00 AM ET | 3:00 PM GMT | 4:00 PM CET

🔗 Register today: https://luma.com/475d1ky3

Don't miss this opportunity to hear from leading voices shaping the future of shrimp welfare.

Every month, the Farm Animal Coalition (FAC) highlights an exceptional organization making meaningful strides in animal ...
05/10/2026

Every month, the Farm Animal Coalition (FAC) highlights an exceptional organization making meaningful strides in animal welfare and sustainability. For November, FAC is proud to shine the spotlight on Ethical Seafood Research, a pioneering group dedicated to advancing humane practices in the aquaculture and fisheries sectors. With impactful projects spanning Africa and beyond, Ethical Seafood Research is improving the lives of millions of aquatic animals while supporting sustainable development.

Read on to learn more about Ethical Seafood Research’s incredible work and why they have been chosen as November’s organization of the month: https://www.farmanimalcoalition.com/post/fac-org-of-the-month-ethical-seafood-research

05/10/2026

What does science tell us about crustacean sentience?

Crabs and shrimps don't simply react to the world around them. They learn from experience, remember danger, solve problems, and avoid pain.

The more we learn, the more clearly we see them as individuals experiencing the world in their own way.

Learn more about crustaceans and animal sentience through the One Life campaign: https://www.asiaforanimals.com/one-life

🔗 Blog: https://www.asiaforanimals.com/post/asia-farm-animal-day-2026

05/10/2026

What changes a life?

For a crab, it might be the memory of pain.

Crabs and other crustaceans learn from experience. They remember danger, make decisions, and change their behavior to stay safe.

Today, we invite you to see crustaceans not as something small or simple, but as individuals with lives of their own.

Learn more about crustaceans and animal sentience through the One Life campaign: https://www.asiaforanimals.com/one-life

🔗 Blog: https://www.asiaforanimals.com/post/asia-farm-animal-day-2026

Do fish experience fear? 🐟This World Animal Day, we’re proud to have contributed to The Atlas of Animal Emotions, a new ...
04/10/2026

Do fish experience fear? 🐟

This World Animal Day, we’re proud to have contributed to The Atlas of Animal Emotions, a new global initiative from the World Federation for Animals exploring the range and complexity of emotions experienced by animals.

ESR’s contribution tells the story of Nile tilapia and fear, drawing on research by our Head of Programmes, Wasseem Emam, at Lake Nabugabo in Uganda.

During a radio telemetry study, 37 wild Nile tilapia were captured, tagged and released. Over the study period, just 4 were recaptured using the same type of fishing gear. While this observation alone cannot tell us why, it raises an intriguing question: could previous capture have influenced how these fish subsequently responded to the same fishing gear?

Alongside wider scientific research showing measurable behavioural indicators of fear in Nile tilapia, the story offers another reason to consider the emotional experiences of aquatic animals and what these could mean for how we interact with them.

From fear and curiosity to empathy and joy, the Atlas brings together stories and scientific evidence from World Federation for Animals members around the world, helping bring animal sentience into conversations about how animals are treated.

🔗 Download The Atlas of Animal Emotions for free: https://wfa.org/atlas/

Aquatic animals are farmed on an enormous scale, yet they are still easily overlooked when we talk about farmed animal w...
02/10/2026

Aquatic animals are farmed on an enormous scale, yet they are still easily overlooked when we talk about farmed animal welfare. 🐟

This World Day for Farmed Animals, we’re shining a spotlight on global aquaculture with five facts you might not know about fish farming.

From the sheer number of individual finfish farmed each year to the different ways their welfare can be understood and assessed, these five facts offer a snapshot of the scale and complexity of the world’s fastest-growing food production sector.

At ESR, we’re working to improve the welfare of animals within these systems through practical, science-based approaches grounded in local realities.

If you’d like to learn more about our work and become part of our community of underwater friends, join our mailing list today: https://buff.ly/aX7Yyx4

As animal welfare frameworks develop across Africa, where do aquatic animals fit? This month, ESR’s Managing Director, J...
01/10/2026

As animal welfare frameworks develop across Africa, where do aquatic animals fit?

This month, ESR’s Managing Director, Jacqui Greeff, will be presenting ESR’s perspective at the 10th Africa Animal Welfare Conference (AAWC) in Lusaka, Zambia.

Drawing on our work across Egypt, Kenya and Tanzania, her presentation, “Who writes the rules? Building aquatic animal welfare into Africa’s institutions,” will explore how animal welfare can be embedded within the institutions and systems that shape aquaculture practice.

From contributing to aquaculture strategy and developing welfare standards to voluntary codes of practice and extension officer training, the presentation will look at what institutional engagement can mean in practice.

As AAWC marks its 10th edition, this year’s conference will focus on moving from dialogue to action, bringing together stakeholders from across Africa and beyond to explore how animal welfare can be implemented alongside climate adaptation and sustainable development.

Thank you to the co-hosting partners, the Government of the Republic of Zambia, Africa Network for Animal Welfare [ANAW], African Union - Inter African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) and Working Animals International, for bringing the conference together, and to Josiah Ojwang and Dennis Bahati for once again inviting ESR to contribute.

We’re pleased to be bringing aquatic animals into these important discussions for the fourth consecutive year and look forward to sharing more from the conference later this month.

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