Project summary

Imagine a future where the welfare of farmed fish is prioritized across Africa—where aquaculture systems not only feed communities but do so humanely and sustainably. This is the vision of iCareFish: a pioneering initiative working to reduce suffering, improve fish health, and promote ecosystem stewardship in Nigeria’s aquaculture clusters.

Following a UFAW-funded baseline study in Edo and Delta States, iCareFish identified key welfare gaps, including overcrowding, poor water quality, and inhumane slaughter. We are now scaling up our intervention across clusters in Kwara, Oyo, and Lagos States, focusing on river- and stream-linked farms where fish mortality and environmental degradation are especially high.

Through hands-on training, community-driven education, and locally relevant tools, iCareFish aims to make fish welfare improvements cost-effective, culturally acceptable, and scalable—starting in Nigeria, with a long-term vision for broader impact across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Here’s Why It Matters:

🐟 A Massive, Overlooked Problem:

Globally, over 200 billion farmed fish are raised and slaughtered annually, yet fish welfare remains one of the most neglected issues in animal agriculture—especially in Africa. In Nigeria alone, production levels imply tens of billions of individual fish, many raised in low-resource settings with little attention to their welfare.

🌍 Conservation and Ecosystem Benefits:

Fish farms in these regions are often situated near natural rivers and streams. Poor welfare practices contribute to pollution, biodiversity loss, and ecological disruption. Humane aquaculture can reduce these impacts and promote environmental stewardship.

👩🏾‍🌾 Empowering Local Leaders:

By training farmers, mentoring extension officers, and distributing open-access guides in local languages, iCareFish creates a community of practice for fish welfare. These champions are equipped to sustain progress long after initial funding ends.

Goals and Outcomes:

 📉 Reduce fish suffering and mortality by 50–70% across three target clusters: Asa River (Kwara), Ejawa (Oyo), and Eriwe (Lagos).

👩🏾‍🏫 Train 100–150 farmers in humane handling, water quality, and biosecurity.

🌱 Protect biodiversity by improving environmental practices in river-linked farms.

📘 Develop and share open-source welfare tools tailored to low-resource aquaculture settings.

🔄 Mentor local fish welfare champions to embed knowledge in communities. 

How We’ll Achieve It:

🧑🏾‍🏫 Conduct 12 monthly workshops (4 per cluster) reaching 50–60 farmers each.

📚 Distribute farmer-friendly welfare manuals in English and local languages.

 🛠 Provide hands-on tools for humane handling, stocking density, and stress reduction.

👥 Implement follow-up coaching through trained local champions.

📢 Disseminate learnings to NGOs, policymakers, and EA-aligned funders for potential scale-up.

How will this funding be used?

• Training workshops (12 total) $4,500

  Local welfare champions (stipends) $1,200

  Welfare manuals & translations $800

  Monitoring & evaluation $1,000

  Travel & logistics $1,000

  Total $8,500 – $9,000
  

Who is on your team? What's your track record on similar projects?

• Felix Nwose – Project Lead
  Aquaculture technical expert with 8+ years of fieldwork, training, and community engagement. Founder of iCareFish. Conducted pilot fish welfare training with over 60 farmers in three clusters using a mixed-methods impact evaluation approach.

• Community Partners – Cluster leaders, farmer cooperatives, and local extension workers in Kwara, Oyo, and Lagos States.
  

What are the most likely causes and outcomes if this project fails?

• Farmer resistance: Addressed via culturally relevant training and peer-led sessions.

• Natural disruptions (e.g. flooding): Mitigated by adaptive scheduling and site-specific planning.

• Low perception of fish sentience: Countered by data, storytelling, and engagement of local champions.

• Funding landscape skepticism: We build a compelling cost-effectiveness case and open-source our approach.
  

How much money have you raised in the last 12 months, and from where?

$2,597 – UFAW Baseline Study Grant: Funded fish welfare research in Edo and Delta states, including surveys, data collection, and farmer interviews.