Aquatic Animal Funding Circle
Coordinating major funders to reduce suffering for farmed aquatic animals and prevent the growth of aquaculture.
Aquatic animals—fish, shrimp, crabs, and other decapods—are the most numerous animals farmed for food, yet they receive just 11 % of global farmed animal welfare philanthropy (which is less than 0.5% of all global philanthropy).
With 100 billion farmed fish and 440 billion farmed shrimp slaughtered every year, supporting high‑leverage interventions in this space offers one of the clearest opportunities to alleviate mass suffering at scale.
July 2025 update: In 2025, Farmed Animal Funders (FAF) hosted the Aquatic Animal Funding Circle for major donors. After six months of co-learning, a request for proposals, co-evaluating, and co-funding, the funding circle members and aligned funders allocated funding to ten organizations. While not every funder funded every organization, FAF generally views these organizations as offering complementary tactics—corporate pressure, producer training, policy lock‑ins, and evidence generation—to form a coherent strategy for rapid, durable welfare gains.
FAF expects the recommended groups can absorb additional grants up to $100,000 (for smaller organizations) or more (for larger organizations). Anyone interested in larger grants should reach out directly to the organizations or to Farmed Animal Funders to confirm further absorption capacity. Please note, an organization’s inclusion below does not mean that all funding circle members nor all FAF members endorse their work.
| Strategic pillar | Organizations |
|---|---|
| Corporate commitments for shrimps | International Council for Animal Welfare Animal Welfare Observatory |
| Producer‑level welfare improvements | Shrimp Welfare Project Fish Welfare Initiative FAI Farms |
| Policy lock‑in | Crustacean Compassion Animal Rights Initiative Anonymous Organization |
| Evidence & learning pipeline | Rethink Priorities Catch Welfare Platform |
Beyond these ten, additional organizations may be strong fits for other donors’ theories of change, geographic or species preferences, or intervention preferences.
We encourage donors to donate directly to the recommended organizations. If you prefer a single donation for distribution across grantees, please reach out to Zoë Sigle.
