Dr. Sylvia Earle To Keynote The 2nd Annual Aquatic Life Conference

The 2nd Annual Aquatic Life Conference will bring together global stakeholders from November 15 - 18 to learn and share about aquatic animal protection

NEW YORK, November 8, 2021 - The Aquatic Life Institute announced today that Dr. Sylvia Earle, Founder and Chair of Mission Blue: The Sylvia Earle Alliance and a National Geographic Explorer in Residence, will keynote the 2nd Annual Aquatic Life Conference. Dr. Earle, world-renowned for her tireless advocacy to address the many threats to our ocean, will bring a voice in her keynote on November 15 at 1:00 PM EST to the most critical stakeholders missing from the global ocean conservation movement: aquatic animals.

"Treating ocean wildlife as commodities, measured by the ton and taken with industrial indifference, is not only inhumane, but is destroying the vital processes that underpin our existence from carbon capture to oxygen generation," said Dr. Sylvia Earle.

This year’s conference, held virtually from November 15-18, is happening at a critical juncture to elevate public awareness of aquatic animal sentience and the importance of taking their welfare into consideration as the global community works toward achieving the ambitions of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

“There has never been a more important time to create the necessary conditions to transition to truly just food systems,” said William Bench, founder and president, Aquatic Life Institute. “Aquatic animals have been historically left out of the animal welfare movement and our goal is to generate awareness of these issues across all sectors in order to dramatically improve the treatment and utilization of aquatic animals. We’re honored to have Dr. Earle join us for this timely conversation.”

The four major themes covered this year include: 1. Fish welfare pillars; 2. Campaign & policy; 3. Neglected research areas & species; and 4. Sustainability, conservation and food systems intersectionality. Experts from marine and ocean conservation groups, the private sector, and the media as well as speakers from outside the animal welfare community will participate in four days of presentations, panels, strategy workshops, and networking opportunities to allow all interested stakeholders to come together to learn, exchange ideas, develop new networks and establish plans for potential future collaborations. Beyond Dr. Earle, other featured speakers at the 2nd Aquatic Life Conference include:

• Dr. Lynne Sneddon, Senior Lecturer, Department of Biological & Environmental Sciences, the University of Gothenburg
• Rob Fletcher, Senior Editor, The Fish Site
• Kathy Hessler, Clinical Professor of Law, Lewis & Clark Law School
• Shannon Davis, Aquaculture Welfare Specialist, Global Animal Partnership (G.A.P.)
• Mandla Gqamlana, Programmes Director, Coalition of African Animal Welfare Organisations
• Chris Kerr, Founding Partner and Chief Investment Officer, Unovis
• Miles Woodruff, CEO and Co-founder, Sophie’s Kitchen

All details of the event, including agenda, speakers and registration are available here. Last year’s conference, the Aquatic Animal Welfare Conference, was hosted by the Human League UK and attracted more than 500 participants from around the world and featured speeches by Dr. Becca Franks, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Studies at New York University, Dr. Hans van de Vis, Senior Researcher, Department of Animal Health and Welfare, Wageningen Livestock Research, and Dr. Lars H. Stien, Senior Researcher, Animal Welfare Group, Institute of Marine Research Norway.

“We look forward to the conference to further strengthen our collaborative work on aquatic animal welfare and to explore how we can best support other neglected areas,” Bench added.

About the Aquatic Life Institute

The Aquatic Life Institute (ALI) is an international NGO working to improve the lives of all aquatic animals. Operating from effective altruism principles, ALI seeks to support and accelerate activities that positively impact aquatic life, with a near-term focus on becoming a central and pivotal organization in efforts to improve the welfare of farmed fish globally, and a long-term focus of reducing the number of aquatic animals used in the entire supply chain. ALI founded the first alliance for aquatic animal welfare and the first coalition to bridge the gap between ocean conservation and aquatic animal welfare. Through the support of our alliances, we have engaged global certification schemes to advocate for the incorporation of aquatic animal welfare standards. The majority of our asks are based on our welfare guide for aquaculture, which all of our partners use in creating consistent and high welfare demands. More information about the Aquatic life Institute can be found at ali.fish.

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