News from fair-fish: July 2025

Fishes are sentient beings – yet in practice, they are still rarely treated as such. Changing this requires knowledge, cooperation, and transparency.

How can animal welfare in sea fisheries be improved? Which fishing methods cause the most suffering – and what can be done about it? Our project Carefish/catch, which will conclude this autumn after four years, provides answers to these questions. All project partners will present the key results at a public online event on September 11, 2025.

We sincerely thank you for your interest – and we would be delighted if you continue to follow and support.

Warm regards
Fausta Borsani
Executive Director fair-fish
fausta@fair-fish.net

Project completion: Carefish/catch

Since 2021, we have worked together with four international partners in the Carefish/catch project to explore how the welfare of fishes in sea fisheries can be better taken into account. We have identified risks during capture, built a database, formulated practical recommendations, and developed the basis for animal welfare standards – a pioneering effort for the benefit of millions of wild-caught fishes. The key results will be presented by all partners at a public online event on September 11, 2025, from 3:00 to 6:30 PM (CEST). Save the date – the official invitation will follow soon!
The five international partners and their roles:

• fair-fish (Switzerland): Co-project lead. fair-fish develops and maintains the fair-fish database ("Catch" section) with science-based information on animal suffering and ways to improve fish welfare.
• CCMAR (Portugal): Conducts on-board assessments of the condition and stress levels of captured fishes.
• FishEthoGroup (Portugal): Co-project lead. Develops fish welfare standards for certified fisheries.
• Friend of the Sea (Italy): Integrates these standards into its certification programme.
• DeMoS Institute (France): Evaluates the impact of the measures on fisheries and consumption.

Please support us in giving fishes the compassion and respect they deserve. Together, we advocate for fishes, for the environment, and for future generations. We are very grateful for any contribution.

Do you know someone who might be interested in our work? Please forward this newsletter and invite your colleagues and friends to join us.