About

The ICARE-FISH mission is to enhance the wellbeing of aquatic animals across Africa.

By combining scientific research, community engagement, and policy influence, we strive to improve conditions for both farmed and wild fish. Initiatives focus on education, empowering local leaders, and promoting compassionate, sustainable practices that recognise fish sentience and reduce unnecessary suffering.

Our Objectives

OBJECTIVE #1

Promote humane handling and slaughter practices in aquaculture and wild capture systems.

OBJECTIVE #2

Conduct welfare-focused research to inform best practices tailored to African environments.

View 5 more objectives

OBJECTIVE #3

Train local welfare champions to lead change within their farming and fishing communities.

OBJECTIVE #4

Advocate for fish welfare policy inclusion at local, national, and international levels.

OBJECTIVE #5

Encourage responsible consumption and the transition toward humane and sustainable food systems.

OBJECTIVE #6

Address welfare concerns in the seafood industry, particularly in low-resource settings.

OBJECTIVE #7

Link welfare to conservation by engaging in issues like overfishing, habitat degradation, and biodiversity loss.

Focus Areas

Farmed Fish Welfare

  • Improve fish handling, water quality, feeding, and stocking density in smallholder and cluster aquaculture systems
  • Develop accessible training modules for farmers with limited resources
  • Promote humane slaughter techniques suited to tropical, low-tech conditions

Wild Fish Welfare

  • Advocate for humane capture and slaughter practices in artisanal fisheries
  • Engage with fishing cooperatives and markets to reduce suffering during transport, storage, and processing
  • Educate on bycatch handling and non-target species protection

Community Empowerment & Local Champions

  • Train local welfare champions—farmers, youth leaders, or educators—to serve as long-term advocates for fish welfare in their communities.
  • Foster peer-to-peer learning within clusters and fishing communities.
  • Co-create tools and solutions with those most affected by welfare gaps.

Seafood Industry Advocacy

  • Raise awareness across supply chains about fish sentience and humane sourcing.
  • Encourage food distributors, vendors, and institutional buyers to consider welfare standards.
  • Support consumer education around sustainable and welfare-conscious options.

Ethical Protein Alternatives

  • Support innovation in plant-based and lower-impact protein development.
  • Collaborate with entrepreneurs and researchers promoting alternatives to conventional fish farming.

Conservation & Overfishing

  • Highlight the overlap between fish welfare and sustainability.
  • Advocate for ecosystem-based approaches to fisheries management.
  • Support efforts that reduce overfishing, habitat destruction, and species decline—while ensuring welfare is not overlooked.

Our Story:
From Experience to Impact

Past. Present. Future.

Our Past: Where It All Began

In early 2025, iCare-Fish was born out of real-life experience – not from an office desk, but from the field.

  • Our co-founder, Felix, witnessed first-hand the poor fish welfare conditions in two pilot cluster farms during his aquaculture work. Overcrowded ponds, poor water quality, and inhumane handling were common problems.
  • Driven to understand the root causes, he carried out a baseline research study with support from the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW) and analysis by Statistics Without Borders.
  • This pivotal research laid the foundation for iCare-Fish – a grassroots initiative created to reduce fish suffering by addressing welfare gaps in cluster farms.

Our Present: Where We Are Now

Today, iCare-Fish works directly with farming communities in our pilot clusters.

  • Delivering practical training on humane handling, feeding, water management, and ecosystem care.
  • Co-developing solutions so welfare isn’t just a concept, but a lived practice on farms.
  • Our impact continues to grow – one cluster at a time.

Our Future: Where We Are Going

We envision a future where fish welfare is the norm across Nigeria and Africa.

  • Next step: expand to new cluster farms across Southern Nigeria.
  • Long-term goal: scale nationally and reach farming communities across the continent.
  • We believe lasting change comes from walking with farmers, not ahead of them — building a movement that protects fish, ecosystems, and community well-being.

Why We Exist

To reduce fish suffering and champion fish welfare in Nigeria and Africa by working closely with cluster communities through research, training, and community-driven solutions.

Our Approach: Direct Farm Engagement

We believe lasting change happens on the ground, not from a distance. That’s why our Direct Farm Engagement Model puts us side by side with farmers inside cluster farms.

We listen and observe real challenges in daily practice.

We work at the intersection of science, community development, and policy to improve the treatment of both wild and farmed fish.

We walk with farmers, not ahead of them, ensuring fish welfare becomes a lived reality, not just a concept.

This hands-on approach keeps our work rooted in African realities and ensures welfare improvements that truly last.

Our Impact Focus

Fish Wellbeing Healthier fish through better water, space, and humane handling.
Ecosystem Health Cleaner rivers, streams, and wetlands connected to farms.
Farmer Empowerment Helping farmers adopt welfare-friendly practices that also improve productivity.

How We Measure Change

  • Reducing fish suffering and mortality We aim to lower fish mortality in trained clusters by up to 40% within 12 months, compared to baseline levels.ng fish suffering
  • More farms using humane and welfare-friendly practices Our goal is for at least 60% of farmers in pilot clusters to adopt two or more welfare-friendly practices, based on surveys and on-farm observations.
  • Improved water quality in local ecosystems We track quarterly changes in cluster ponds and connected streams, with a focus on dissolved oxygen levels and waste management practices.
  • Farmers reporting fewer losses and stronger resilience Through surveys and sample farm records, we monitor progress, aiming for 60% of farmers to report reduced stock losses and greater farm stability.

Our Theory of Change

Research & Evidence
Training & Support
Farmer Adoption of Welfare Practices
Reduced Fish Suffering & Better Health
Thriving Ecosystems & Sustainable Communities