Meeting the increasing UK demand for seafood sustainably and equitably: integrated shrimp-mangrove aquaculture as a solution to promote environmental

Aquaculture is a large field, with many species of fish and crustaceans being consumed in the UK.
Five billion prawns and other decapod crustaceans imported into the UK annually (Crustacean
Compassion, 2023) and 400 billion shrimp are farmed in total globally each year (Shrimp Welfare
Project, 2023). Consequently, this project focuses on shrimp farming and its relationship with
environmental degradation in India. There is little scholarship on this field; most of research is
being conducted by NGOs and would benefit from greater academic input. However, despite the
lack of attention on the welfare of shrimp and other invertebrates, decapod crustaceans are now
legally recognised as sentient by the UK Government through the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act
2022 after recommendations from Birch et al. (2021). Therefore, the government now has an
obligation to ensure that that the 40,000 tonnes of shrimp consumed in the UK each year by retail
shoppers alone (Pegg, 2019) are sourced from farms with acceptable welfare standards. Indeed,
shrimp are such a large part of the UK diet that they comprise around a fifth of the total value of
seafood imports into the UK (Pegg, 2019). Given that welfare in shrimp is not yet fully understood,
scholars currently closely conflate environmental conditions and welfare in shrimp farms (Lewit-
Mendes, Saugh & Boddy, 2022). Mangroves are commonly cleared to make way for shrimp farms,
however, they are vital in creating a sustainable and liveable ecosystem for the shrimp, and there
are increasing calls for integrated shrimp-mangrove aquaculture, or silvofisheries, to allow for
food production whilst also largely maintaining ecosystem function (McSherry et al., 2023;
Ahmed, Thompson & Glaser, 2018). The lack of knowledge on crustacean welfare means it is
imperative to not only maintain but also improve mangrove ecosystems and prepare them for the
changes that climate change will bring. Further scholarship on producers and the relationship
between their livelihoods and mangroves is also warranted.