Aquaculture Accountability Project

10/08/2026

This , we're sharing a new short film on why octopus farming should be stopped before it starts. Scientists, ethicists, legal scholars, and advocates explain what's at stake: suffering for animals with no proven humane method of slaughter, more pressure on the wild fish populations caught to feed them, and new pollution and disease risks.

The film features AAP's Laura Lee Cascada on her investigation of Hawaii's Kanaloa Octopus Farm, which led to the facility's closure.

There's good news, too. Washington and California have already banned octopus farming, and the movement is growing worldwide.

The film grew out of a March summit convened by the George Washington University Law School Animal Law program and the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, which brought together more than twenty experts. A peer-reviewed report from that group, gathering the legal, scientific, economic, and ethical evidence in one place, is coming soon.

Watch the film 👇
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMFxq3R7-ig

09/21/2026

For universities working to cut carbon emissions and build healthier menus, fish and shrimp look like the safe animal proteins next to beef. Certifications and sourcing guides present farmed fish in particular as both the answer to overfishing and a healthy choice—and campus purchasing has followed. Yet those claims are remarkably hard to decipher, and products are nearly impossible to trace.

Our webinar on Thursday, October 1, helps dining and sustainability staff cut through it, so you can be confident about what you're serving and whether it holds up against your institution's commitments.

Register: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/l5LPS0VFSd6pkb73vVZcIQ

09/15/2026

Shrimp tends to escape the scrutiny given to beef and other climate-intensive animal products. A new guide from the Aquaculture Accountability Project, Plant Futures Initiative, and Food for Thought makes the case that it shouldn't.

A few findings:

• Over 90% of U.S. shrimp is imported, much of it from countries the U.S. Department of Labor has flagged for forced and child labor.
• The FDA inspects only about 2% of aquaculture shipments for bacterial contamination, and just 0.1% for drug residues. Even at that rate, prohibited antibiotics turn up regularly.
• Farmed shrimp emits more than 26 kg CO₂-eq per kilogram, exceeding pork, poultry, and salmon. That's like driving 65 miles in a gas-powered car.
• Shrimp ponds account for an estimated 38% of global mangrove deforestation since the 1980s.
• "Sustainable seafood" labels are more marketing than a guarantee. They are paid for by the companies they are supposed to hold accountable, and many farms are not even audited every year. Investigations have exposed facilities with numerous violations remaining certified.

Written for dining directors and campus sustainability staff, the guide lays out the food safety, environmental, and human rights evidence—and how plant-based proteins can fill shrimp's place on the menu without a major overhaul. And the swap can be popular: students at Scripps College already secured a shrimp-free commitment for a semester with broad student support.

Download the full guide at bit.ly/rethinkshrimp 🦐

09/04/2026

A new study revealed that farmed salmon now only contains half the marine omegas as the official numbers in federal guidance, and consumers are being left in the dark.

This drop has occurred as the industry has shifted to more plant-based feed ingredients after fully exploiting wild fisheries for salmon feed. And with that shift, which the industry has hailed as "sustainable," salmon's emissions, land use, and waste have only increased.

We spoke with Inside Climate News about the reality of the salmon industry's healthy image:

The reason? A shift in the fish’s diet, with significant downstream impacts on the environment and climate.

08/17/2026

We recently authored a piece for The Observatory, which was picked up by outlets around the world, diving into the myths behind industrial fish farming.

"Fish farming, a form of aquaculture, is now the fastest-growing form of factory farming worldwide. This rapid expansion can be attributed to the industry’s emphasis on buzzwords such as 'climate,' 'conservation,' and 'sustainability.' While discussions about land-based farmed animals, such as cattle, pigs, and poultry, are dominated by their impact on emissions and the environment, aquaculture has been positioned as a sustainable alternative, allowing it to quietly transform coastlines into industrial zones while affecting marine ecosystems and communities in ways that are often invisible to the public."

Read more below!

Often promoted as sustainable, fish farming can increase pressure on wild fisheries, deepen global food inequities, and damage marine ecosystems.

07/23/2026

We've been chosen as a grant recipient by Women Funders in Animal Rights! With their support, we'll reach more people about the greenwashing myths behind industrial aquaculture, shift more meals away from fish and shrimp, and protect the oceans from the harms of fish factory farming. Learn more about WFAR: https://www.womenfundersinar.org/

06/03/2026

Have you seen it yet? 🎬🐙 Stories like Remarkably Bright Creatures, recently launched on Netflix, create a rare sense of connection with species we might otherwise never encounter. As science continues to deepen our understanding of aquatic animal intelligence and sentience, there is a growing opportunity to see them differently and to care more about their welfare.

Help protect octopuses like Marcellus from exploitation in industrial farming → https://animalsaotearoa.org/stop-octopus-farming

06/02/2026

Scientists just linked a virus from shrimp factory farms to a disease that can cause blindness in humans, and FoodPrint investigated. We were excited to be interviewed for the story.

AAP founder Laura Lee Cascada explains that industrial aquaculture “creates this stew where viruses and bacteria are amplified and now have ample opportunity to spread. But we haven’t scaled up the public health infrastructure along with the scaling up of the industry.”

Read more below!

New research out of China shows a link between a virus prevalent in aquaculture and a chronic infection that can lead to blindness in people

05/06/2026

"Diseased and blind salmon missing chunks of their flesh have been filmed at a flagship fish farm facility that was funded by more than £5 million of UK government money," reports The Times.

The salmon industry has a long history of pressuring policymakers to ease restrictions and look the other way at violations, and now we're seeing how government funding has been used to directly prop up factory farming conditions.

Read more below:

An animal welfare activist filmed fish with red eyes, lesions and disfigured snouts. The company that runs the farm says the footage misrepresents its practices

05/05/2026

Can you trust the labels on your salmon and shrimp?

FoodNavigator dives in to the greenwashing behind aquaculture certifications in a new article featuring quotes from us and Farm Forward.

"If certifications raise the bar too much, that will cause companies not to participate. So the incentive is really to keep the standards only as high as companies are willing to pay."

Read more:

As aquaculture continues to expand globally, critics and certifiers increasingly disagree over whether seafood labels meaningfully improve sustainability — or simply reassure consumers.