World Wildlife Fund

Creating employment for women at a shrimp farm, India
© courtesy of Network of Aquaculture Centers in Asia

WWF collaborates with a range of stakeholders to develop credible, voluntary standards geared toward minimizing or eliminating the main environmental and social impacts caused by aquaculture.

In 1999, WWF partnered with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Bank and the Network of Aquaculture Centers of Asia Pacific to create the Shrimp Aquaculture and the Environment Consortium. The United Nations Environmental Program has since joined the consortium. In 2006, after the completion of more than 140 meetings with more than 8,000 people and the publication of 40 case studies by 120 researchers, the consortium's International Principles for Responsible Shrimp Farming were adopted by the FAO's Committee on Fisheries.

WWF and partner NGOs are working with major seafood buyers – like Wal-Mart – to assist them in using their purchasing power to secure seafood from environmentally sustainable sources, assess current seafood supply chains for sustainability of supply, and ultimately utilize their supply chains to improve the management of the world’s fisheries. With producers of seafood products, we provide technical assistance in benchmarking current operations against those practices necessary to achieve credible certification, such as Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification. WWF also works with members of the fishing industry to improve fishing practices and promote sustainable fisheries management.

Learn more

• Read about WWF's conservation achievements in aquaculture
• Learn more about other WWF partners

For more information, please contact us at aquacultureinfo@wwfus.org