Executive summary: Fish Welfare Initiative (FWI) made significant progress in 2024 by executing its R&D-focused strategy, expanding its farm program, launching new research and incentive initiatives, and improving operational efficiency, all while impacting an estimated 1.2 million fishes through water quality improvements.
Key points:
Program Execution & Research Expansion: 2024 marked the execution phase of FWI’s R&D-driven approach, including multiple studies on satellite imagery, feed fortification, and dissolved oxygen tolerance to develop scalable welfare interventions.
Farm Program Growth & Impact: The Alliance for Responsible Aquaculture expanded from 105 to 155 active farms, improving the welfare of approximately 1.2 million fishes, despite prioritizing program development over direct impact.
Innovative “Pull” Incentives: FWI introduced initiatives like the Stunning RFP and Satellite Imagery Innovation Challenge to crowdsource solutions for pressing fish welfare challenges, though their effectiveness remains to be seen.
Strategic Vision for 2026: FWI established a concrete goal to identify and field-test a scalable, cost-effective, and evidence-based intervention by 2026, guiding future scaling decisions.
Operational Improvements: Efficiency and goal attainment improved significantly compared to 2023, with more streamlined research processes and fewer organizational restructures, despite ongoing challenges in running complex field studies.
Financial & Organizational Updates: FWI increased its budget to $830K for 2025, raised $670K in 2024, and grew its staff to 23 members, while maintaining a strong commitment to transparency and impact-driven decision-making.
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Executive summary: Fish Welfare Initiative (FWI) made significant progress in 2024 by executing its R&D-focused strategy, expanding its farm program, launching new research and incentive initiatives, and improving operational efficiency, all while impacting an estimated 1.2 million fishes through water quality improvements.
Key points:
Program Execution & Research Expansion: 2024 marked the execution phase of FWI’s R&D-driven approach, including multiple studies on satellite imagery, feed fortification, and dissolved oxygen tolerance to develop scalable welfare interventions.
Farm Program Growth & Impact: The Alliance for Responsible Aquaculture expanded from 105 to 155 active farms, improving the welfare of approximately 1.2 million fishes, despite prioritizing program development over direct impact.
Innovative “Pull” Incentives: FWI introduced initiatives like the Stunning RFP and Satellite Imagery Innovation Challenge to crowdsource solutions for pressing fish welfare challenges, though their effectiveness remains to be seen.
Strategic Vision for 2026: FWI established a concrete goal to identify and field-test a scalable, cost-effective, and evidence-based intervention by 2026, guiding future scaling decisions.
Operational Improvements: Efficiency and goal attainment improved significantly compared to 2023, with more streamlined research processes and fewer organizational restructures, despite ongoing challenges in running complex field studies.
Financial & Organizational Updates: FWI increased its budget to $830K for 2025, raised $670K in 2024, and grew its staff to 23 members, while maintaining a strong commitment to transparency and impact-driven decision-making.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.