Recreational fisherman in Italy (photo: Studer/fair-fish)

Reduce animal suffering in fisheries

Back in the noughties, fair-fish gathered experience in establishing a low suffering standard. This now converges with the courage of the international seafood certification scheme Friend of the Sea to upgrade its standard accordingly.

The project tackles an absolutely pioneering situation in a complex field marked by dozens of fishing methods and hundreds of species concerned. Our objectives

1. Assess global animal welfare impacts in fisheries
2. Identify the potential of reducing animal suffering, in various fishing methods and species, by visits on fishing boats and experiments
3. Publish the findings in an open-access database
4. Develop guidelines for the reduction of animal suffering in fisheries
5. Analyse the economic feasibility of the improvements suggested
6. Raise problem and solution awareness in general and specific audience
7. Implement guidelines into the Friend of the Sea certification scheme