This project addresses the prevalence of fish welfare practices in Nigeria’s aquaculture industry. The project assessment of fish farmers’ baseline knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) has been successfully completed across 188 fish farms in Delta, and Edo States. The purpose of this phase was to generate reliable, farmer-led evidence to guide fish-welfare advocacy, strengthen humane aquaculture practices, and identify systemic barriers limiting compliance.

The majority of farmers depend on concrete, earthen, and tarpaulin ponds, and flooding remains a recurring challenge.  The baseline data collected revealed that 58% of farmers are unaware of recommended stocking densities, and 47% operate at high densities (11+ fish/m³), increasing stress and disease risk. There is also an over-reliance on personal experience (39%) rather than guidelines (19%) affects consistency. Only 5% of farmers conduct routine water quality testing, and 51% of farms release wastewater directly into nearby streams, thereby posing ecological risks. Larger farms (>2000 fish) change water more frequently (68%), while smaller farms lag behind.

Mortality is not significantly correlated with stocking density or training alone. Main causes reported by farmers include flooding, poor water quality, and disease outbreaks, with most farms reporting losing less than 500 fish annually, but cumulative financial loss remains high.

Assessment of the general welfare status showed that only 18 farms (9.2%) operate a high animal welfare practice, with 68 farms (34.9%) at medium and 109 farms (55.9%) at low levels of animal welfare practice. Training showed a strong, significant effect on welfare compliance, and record-keeping method is one of the strongest predictors of high welfare performance, with farms using digital (combined with manual) record keeping showing the highest levels of welfare, whereas manual or no record keeping was associated with low/medium welfare.

We have conducted welfare awareness sessions during data collection and identified untrained farmers (44%) for priority inclusion in upcoming welfare training. We have also created a farmer-friendly explainer on stocking density and poor welfare signs. In addition, we are engaging farmers in pollution risks associated with discharging wastewater into streams and encouraged local adoption of simple water-testing tools and monitoring logs.

Early discussions with local extension officers in Delta and Edo states have begun on integrating welfare into routine farm visits. We have also shared early insights with community leaders to support welfare-aligned norms. The next steps of the project include the rollout of animal welfare training of farmers, introduction of simple digital tools for welfare monitoring and record keeping, as well as further advocacy and policy engagement.