In September 2022, Ethical Farming Ireland joined the Aquatic Animal Alliance, a coalition of more than one hundred animal welfare NGOs created by the Aquatic Life Institute (including Action for Dolphins, CIWF, L214, Sentient Media and Viva!) who have come together to set welfare standards for aquatic animals as high as possible.
Such collaboration enables NGOs to work together on campaigns such as the Aquatic Life Institute’s Octopus Farming Ban Campaign to ensure that such campaigns are given the maximum amount of publicity. EFI is giving full support and commitment to the campaign.
While there are currently no plans to start an octopus farm in Ireland, it will be a matter of time if there are ‘successful’ farms in other member states, and we will do our utmost to prevent any future octopus aquaculture being developed in Ireland.
Understanding and defining welfare
The Aquatic Animal Alliance aims not only to define what welfare should be but also to work with certifiers to increase their standards. While consumers are probably aware about some of the welfare issues surrounding farmed fish, they probably do not realise that wild caught fish have no protection under Irish law.
Wild caught fish which died by asphyxiation are being branded as “responsibly sourced” and “sustainable”. Ethical Farming Ireland believes it’s misleading to market marine animals as “responsibly sourced” or “sustainable” if they were not raised (or caught) and slaughtered in accordance with appropriate welfare standards.
Article 13 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union recognises that all animals are sentient beings and requires Member States to pay full regard to their welfare requirements. But so far, reports and guidelines issued by the EU are not binding.
Ireland is a member of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), but WOAH’s Aquatic Code deals only with farmed fish (aquaculture). Section 12 of Ireland’s Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 prohibits cruelty to farmed fish, but section 12(11) (a) of that Act means that anything which occurs in the ordinary course of fishing is exempt.
Aquafarming’s substandard living conditions
So while the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is collaborating with Ireland’s Seafood Development Agency Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), on welfare workshops for the aquaculture sector supported by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, ongoing welfare issues around aquaculture include lice infestation, confinement, overcrowding, lack of enrichment, overuse of antibiotics (which has implications for human health) and slaughter without stunning, which is cruel to the fish and dangerous for the workers.
BIM’s “sustainability and certification” page and its “sustainability toolkit” make no mention of welfare for either farmed or caught marine animals.
Honest and accurate labelling
Internationally, while the website of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council or ASC (which deals with farmed fish) says it is “working hard” on welfare requirements and is in the middle of a consultation process on welfare, there are no references to animal welfare on the website of the Marine Stewardship Council or MSC (which deals with wild caught fish).
Ethical Farming Ireland believes that Irish consumers care about how their food is raised (or caught) and slaughtered. When buying animal products which are represented to be “responsibly sourced” or “sustainable”, consumers reasonably believe that the welfare of those animals was taken into account.
Ethical Farming Ireland calls on the ASC, BIM and MSC to stop certifying marine animals as “responsibly sourced” or “sustainable” if they were not raised (or caught) and slaughtered in accordance with appropriate welfare standards, such as those being developed by the Aquatic Animal Alliance.
Related links
- www.aquaticanimalalliance.org
- https://ali.fish/
- www.ali.fish/octopus-farming-ban
- www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-9-2020-0264_EN.html?redirect
- www.food.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2022-07/aw_platform_plat-conc_guide_farmed-fish_en.pdf
- www.woah.org/en/what-we-do/standards/codes-and-manuals/aquatic-code-online-access/
- www.bim.ie/aquaculture/advisory-services/fish-welfare-workshop/
- www.bim.ie/seafood-processing/sustainability-and-certification
- www.bim.ie/seafood-processing/sustainability-and-certification/toolkit/
- www.asc-aqua.org/weve-been-working-hard-on-new-fish-welfare-requirements-heres-the-latest/
- www.asc-aqua.org/news/latest-news/asc-launches-public-consultation-on-fish-health-and-welfare-and-benthic-impacts-in-asc-farm-standard/
Image credit homepage: We Animals Media – Andrew Skowron
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