Against the tide of industrial aquaculture
At a time when governments and corporations increasingly position aquaculture as the cure for the food, economic and climate crises, it is worth asking whether any of these narratives hold. Research shows that shrimp and salmon farming take more food out of the mouths of the poor than they deliver to anyone’s plate. The volumes of monoculture-grown soy and wild-caught fish processed into fish feed are staggering. The overall climate impact of aquaculture with such a globalised value chain is almost impossible to assess. Yet, the Global Seafood Alliance promotes, “aquaculture is uniquely positioned not only to withstand impacts of climate change, but to even help mitigate its effects” – even as one scientific study finds the climate footprint of farmed shrimp comparable, per kilogram of product, to that of beef. A new UN report on fisheries and aquaculture (SOFIA, 2026) describes aquaculture as “greatly contributing to economic development”, citing an estimated sectoral value of USD 391 billion. But it falls silent on the profits captured by a small number of corporations and on the millions of people whose economic base disappears through dispossession from their territories, or through severe environmental pollution.
In response to the havoc caused by industrial aquaculture and its threat to food sovereignty, the Nyéléni Global Forum in 2025 decided to launch a global campaign to resist corporate control, further destruction from this industry and the privatization of ocean and coastal areas. This edition of the Nyéléni newsletter captures some of the work of the campaign.
ETC Group, FIAN, GRAIN, TNI, WFFP
