On the 19 - 20 June, we travelled to The Hague in The Netherlands to take part in the Oceanovation Festival, an event which brings together investors, innovators and NGOs to discuss the future sustainability of the seafood industry.
Crustacean Compassion was invited to take part in a discussion panel on aquatic animal welfare and the non-negotiable role this must play in the long-term viability of any food production system.
The two-day event got started with a keynote speech from Dr Jason Clay, Senior Vice President, Market Transformation at World Wildlife Fund. Dr Clay discussed why as an issue for the aquaculture and fisheries industries, sustainability is not about what to think, but how to think. After mentioning that global seafood consumption has more than doubled since the 1960s, he stressed the need for common tools, measurements and boundaries to help the trade align on sustainability goals.
Solutions will need to be pre-competitive, he said, and transparency and traceability will become the norm for everyone in the industry going forward.
Animal Welfare and Seafood Investment – The Missing Key to Sustainability Success
On the afternoon of the first day, Crustacean Compassion joined Aquatic Life Institute and electrical stunning equipment manufacturer Ace Aquatec to address the key role of investors in ensuring innovators consider animal welfare from the first stages of any new project. With clear and increasing demand for higher welfare products – from consumers and subsequently, the retailers who want to supply them – good welfare needs to be a core pillar of sustainability strategy for any industry that wants to survive and thrive in the future.
Alongside the legislative, commercial and reputational risks posed by not taking action on decapod crustacean welfare, there are a lot of opportunities for investors right now. Change presents a chance for investors to accelerate new solutions, access new markets ahead of the competition and potentially be part of ground-breaking industry-wide innovations.
This is both a challenging and exciting time for aquatic animal welfare and we hope investors will seize the opportunity to be a part of the solution.