Assessing shrimp welfare.
Photo: FAI
FAI has launched the Shrimp Hub, a new online resource designed to help shrimp producers, processors and retailers place animal welfare at the heart of their operations, as awareness of shrimp welfare continues to grow across the global industry.
The shrimp sector currently produces around six million tonnes of farmed shrimp each year, and FAI says animal welfare is increasingly recognised not only as an ethical responsibility but also as a driver of economic performance. Healthier shrimp grow faster, have higher survival rates and require fewer costly interventions, supporting more efficient and resilient production systems.
According to FAI, the Shrimp Hub is intended to act as a central, practical resource for supply chain professionals, bringing together training, assessment tools and expert knowledge in a mobile-friendly, multilingual format dedicated exclusively to shrimp production.
Dr. Sara Barrento, FAI’s e-learning and aquaculture program manager.
Photo: FAI
A key feature of the Hub is its structured pathway towards formal welfare endorsement. FAI has expanded its approach from individual enrolment to company-wide training, enabling businesses to train teams and demonstrate measurable progress in shrimp welfare.
“More and more major aquaculture certification schemes are now including animal welfare standards, so the Shrimp Hub has an important role in helping shrimp-producing companies prepare for certification and recognition of their commitment to shrimp welfare,” said Dr Sara Barrento, FAI’s e-learning and aquaculture programme manager.
Through the Hub, FAI offers two welfare badges that signal different levels of achievement. The Shrimp Welfare-trained Badge is awarded to companies whose staff complete the newly developed Shrimp Welfare Trained: Foundation Course, which introduces core welfare principles and practical assessment skills.
A second level, the Welfare-assessed Badge, is available to companies that go further by conducting weekly welfare assessments on at least 10% of their ponds and collecting consistent, reliable data to support decision-making and transparency.
To mark the launch of the Shrimp Hub, FAI has also introduced its Shrimp Welfare Indicators course in Indonesian. The addition reflects the organisation’s focus on accessibility in Southeast Asia, one of the world’s most important shrimp-producing regions.
“The Indonesian course sits alongside those in Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese, while also offered in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic,” Barrento said. “It’s vital that our courses and welfare assessment tools are accessible to producers across the region.”
Both the Foundation and Indicators courses are self-paced and cover welfare indicators related to nutrition, environment, health and behaviour, explaining how these factors can be assessed and why they matter in commercial production.
Delivered through FAI Academy, the Shrimp Hub also provides a platform for specialist service and technology providers, with the aim of keeping welfare central to future industry development, FAI said.
