Aquatic Life Institute

What Aquatic Life Institute does

Aquatic Life Institute (ALI) is a US nonprofit, with a subsidiary in France, that works to improve welfare standards for aquatic animals — farmed and wild-caught fishes, shrimps, octopuses and others. Founded in 2019, it focuses on changing the rules, policies and certification standards that govern how these animals are raised and caught, rather than on individual farms.

It uses four main levers. It submits welfare recommendations to local, national and international policymakers, with particular attention to the EU. It works with retailers on corporate welfare commitments. Its Certifier Benchmark evaluates and ranks aquaculture certification schemes on animal welfare; ALI notes those schemes cover about 2.4 billion fishes and 64.8 billion shrimps, so raising their standards can reach very large numbers of animals. And it convenes the Aquatic Animal Alliance, a coalition of more than 180 organizations in over 75 countries.

Animal Charity Evaluators has recommended ALI since 2024 and estimates its corporate outreach affects roughly 5,000 shrimps per dollar through electrical-stunning commitments. It is a small organization — about $746,000 in revenue in 2024 — and ACE estimated it had room for roughly $0.4 million more in annual funding.

Key facts

• Its Aquatic Animal Alliance has 180+ member organizations in over 75 countries (ACE review)
• ACE estimates its corporate work affects about 5,000 shrimps per dollar through electrical-stunning commitments (ACE review)
• Major aquaculture certification schemes it benchmarks cover about 2.4 billion fishes and 64.8 billion shrimps (ali.fish/about)
• FY2024: $746,464 revenue and $733,250 expenses (ProPublica)

Before you give

• Gives via Giving What We Can (no pledge required), Every.org, or by mailed check (donate page).
• ALI says unrestricted gifts are especially valuable (donate page).