Imagine a world where the welfare of even the smallest creatures can significantly impact our environment, society, and economy. This is the vision driving the Shrimp Welfare Project (SWP), an extraordinary organization dedicated to the welfare of shrimp. SWP stands out in the realm of sustainability by emphasizing the moral consideration and well-being of shrimp, advocating that their welfare is crucial for the success of businesses, the health of our society, and the sustainability of our environment. By acknowledging that shrimp are capable of suffering, SWP challenges us to rethink our approach to marine life and aquaculture. This forward-thinking organization not only promotes the ethical treatment of shrimp but also highlights the broader implications of their welfare on our planet. Dive into the inspiring journey of SWP and discover how their innovative work is making waves in the world of sustainability.
Who is Shrimp Welfare Project?
Shrimp Welfare Project (SWP) is the first nonprofit organization that exclusively focuses on shrimp welfare. Based in the UK with staff located worldwide, they aim to guide the global shrimp industry towards higher welfare practices for a more sustainable and ethical future.
What is SWP about?
–Corporate Engagement–
SWP collaborates closely with global producers, seafood suppliers and retailers to improve farming practices, especially in harvest and slaughter. Their approach includes providing guidance and support at every stage of the welfare improvement process. This encompasses consultation on best practices, implementation strategies, and offering free services and equipment to aid in the transition.
Humane Slaughter Initiative: The program aims to promote humane practices by providing electrical stunners to aquaculture operations at minimal or no cost, ensuring that animals experience minimal stress and pain during slaughter.
SWP team and partner corporates in the Humane Slaughter Initiative at a farm site in Viet Nam
Eyestalk Ablation-Free Recognition: SWP promotes the elimination of eyestalk ablation from the shrimp industry globally by spotlighting corporates who have made an effort to phase out and eliminate the practice of eyestalk ablation from their supply chain.
–Farmer Support–
SWP is working with farmers to directly improve shrimp welfare in their farms. To achieve this, they launched Sustainable Shrimp Farmers of India (SSFI), an initiative to promote best welfare-focused management practices in shrimp farming. This also provides farmers with a forum to network, interact, learn from farmers and SWP’s experts.
Farmers of Sustainable Shrimp Farmers of India (SSFI) program
–Research–
SWP actively works on a number of research projects to explore and address key uncertainties. As a result, they are able to produce reports that communicate their findings to a broader audience.
–Outreach–
SWP is raising issue salience by speaking up about shrimp welfare across audiences around the world. They raise awareness about shrimp welfare through conferences, podcasts, and articles in the shrimp industry, animal welfare, and Effective Altruism spaces. They also collaborate with other organizations in this field. Some key events and resources featuring SWP:
Podcast 80,000 Hours: After Hours - Andrés Jiménez Zorrilla on the Shrimp Welfare Project.
Presentation at Asia Farm Animal Day 2023 - Advocating for Aquatic Animals.
FAC regional event 2023 where SWP joined FAC as one of the co-organizers for the event, and presented in a panel discussion on the topic of Transition to farm animal welfare: from buyers' perspective.
Lien-Huong Trinh, SWP's representative at Asia Farm Animal Day and FAC Regional Event 2023
What makes SWP the organization of the month?
Shrimp Welfare Project is an Animal Charity Evaluators’ Recommended Charity 2023. Their impact so far:
About 2.3 billion shrimps are expected to be helped each year.
Overall cost-effectiveness: 1,600 shrimps are helped per dollar each year.
Countries of Impact:
Honduras: ~700,000,000 shrimps helped per annum
Vietnam: ~640,000,000 shrimps helped per annum
Sri Lanka: ~440,000,000 shrimps helped per annum
Ecuador: ~220,000,000 shrimps helped per annum
Thailand: ~180,000,000 shrimps helped per annum
Venezuela: ~140,000,000 shrimps helped per annum
India: To be added after the Pilot phase
United Kingdom: SWP collaborates with retailers to help them integrate shrimp welfare into their policies. This effort has led to the adoption of two welfare policies that include shrimps.
SWP is currently working on quantifying the number of individuals who have benefited from these policies as a direct result of their intervention. Therefore, they don't include the impact from these policies into the count of shrimps helped for now.
See more details about SWP’s impact here.
Learn more about SWP, and stay connected by following them on social media (LinkedIn | Facebook) and by subscribing to their newsletter!
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