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AQUATIC LIFE INSTITUTE INC
RYE, NY · EIN 873020380 · Form 990 · FY2024 · NTEE D30 · Animal-Related · Small ($100K-$1M) · ali.fish
revenue
$746K
expenses
$733K
net assets
$195K
employees
1
program ratio
71%
mission · from form 990

AQUATIC LIFE INSTITUTE (ALI) IS COMMITTED TO CREATING A MORE JUST AND SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEM BY CHAMPIONING THE RECOGNITION, PROTECTION, AND PRIORITIZATION OF AQUATIC ANIMAL WELFARE; ANCHORED IN SCIENCE, INTEGRATED ACROSS SUPPLY CHAINS, AND ENTRENCHED IN GLOBAL WELLBEING.

profile · synthesized from sources

Aquatic Life Institute (ALI) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing aquatic animal welfare through science-based advocacy, policy reform, and supply chain engagement. It works globally to prevent the industrial farming of cephalopods, particularly octopuses, by promoting legislative bans, influencing certification standards, and collaborating with retailers and governments. ALI's efforts are focused on preempting large-scale octopus farming through coordinated international campaigns.

irs program accomplishments · form 990 part iii · fy2024

What they reported doing

  1. #1 primary $130K
    COALITIONS - ALI FACILITATES SHARING OF INFORMATION AND RESOURCES BETWEEN 140+ AQUATIC ANIMAL ALLIANCE (AAA) MEMBERS IN 70+ COUNTRIES. THIS INCLUDES PROMOTING UP-TO-DATE RESEARCH AND RESOURCES, AND MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIP BUILDING FOR ORGANIZATIONS WORKING TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF AQUATIC ANIMALS.
  2. #2 $129K
    CERTIFIER CAMPAIGN - ALI AIMS TO IMPROVE AQUACULTURE CERTIFIER STANDARDS TO ESTABLISH WHAT CONSTITUES A HIGH-WELFARE AQUATIC ANIMAL PRODUCT, AND TO ENSURE THAT PRODUCTS LABELED AS SUSTAINABLE OR RESPONSIBLE MUST INCLUDE THE MOST ROBUST ANIMAL WELFARE CONSIDERATIONS. THROUGH ALI'S ANNUAL CERTIFICATION BENCHMARK PROGRAM, ALI ANALYZES WELFARE REQUIREMENTS WITHIN THE PRIMARY FARMING STANDARDS OF GLOBAL SEAFOOD CERTIFIERS AND ISSUES PUBLIC RATINGS AND INDIVIDUAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT.
named programs · 3 · from sources

What they call their work

Aquatic Animal Alliance (AAA)
Global network of over 140 organizations in 70+ countries collaborating to improve aquatic animal welfare through information sharing, coordinated action, and policy advocacy.
Certifier Campaign
Effort to improve aquaculture certification standards by benchmarking global seafood certifiers on animal welfare and advocating for the exclusion of octopus farming from certified practices.
Octopus Farming Ban Campaign
Advocacy initiative to prevent the development of industrial octopus farming through legislation, public education, and coalition-building in the U.S. and internationally.
activities · 4 groups

What they do

  • Animal Protection Advocacy & Campaigns 2 activities
    • Influence on national and international policy frameworks
      Advocates for the inclusion of aquatic animal welfare in global food systems and climate discussions, resulting in integration into the Canadian Code of Practice for Farmed Salmonids, the FAO’s Shanghai Declaration, and engagement at COP30 and Seafood Expo Global.
    • Policy advocacy and legislative campaigns against octopus farming
      Leads advocacy efforts to ban octopus farming through legislative engagement, public education, and coalition coordination, contributing to the passage of bans in California (AB 3162) and Washington State (HB 1153), and submitting testimony in support of similar legislation in Massachusetts.
  • Vegan Advocacy & Community Engagement 1 activity
    • Development and dissemination of animal welfare resources
      Produces and shares research-based materials including welfare guidelines, fact sheets on octopus farming, progress reports, and campaign resources to support advocacy and inform stakeholders globally.
  • SDG Advancement & Global Advocacy 1 activity
    • International stakeholder engagement and coalition building
      Facilitates collaboration among 140+ members of the Aquatic Animal Alliance across 70+ countries, coordinates coalition lobbying efforts, and secures membership in 41 international councils and stakeholder groups to advance aquatic animal welfare in global policy forums including COP30 and the FAO.
  • Uncategorized 3 activities
    • Advocacy for aquatic animal welfare in aquaculture certification standards
      Advocates for robust animal welfare criteria to be included as mandatory requirements in sustainable or responsible seafood labeling standards, including influencing the Aquaculture Stewardship Council’s unified Farm Standard and the removal of harmful indicators like the “stress test” in shrimp handling systems.
    • Annual Certification Benchmark Program
      Conducts an annual assessment of animal welfare requirements in global seafood certification standards, publicly rates them, and issues improvement recommendations. The evaluated schemes cover an estimated 2.4 billion farmed finfish and 64.8 billion farmed shrimp annually.
    • Corporate engagement for improved aquatic animal welfare
      Works with global seafood retailers and brands to adopt comprehensive welfare policies, including influencing Tesco, Hilton Foods, Marks & Spencer, and Waitrose on crustacean welfare and broodstock practices, securing commitments from eight global retailers to implement high welfare standards.
financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$746K
Contributions & grants$746K100%
Program service revenue$4050%
Investment income$00%
Other revenue$0
expenses
Total expenses$733K
Program expenses71%
Admin / overhead22%
Fundraising7%
Salaries & benefits$593K
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$195K
Cash$195K
Investments$0
Liabilities$0
Net assets$195K
Liquid reserves3.2 mo
2 years on record · 2023–2024 · YoY revenue +15.0%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

paid leadership · 1
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
SOPHIKA KOSTYNIUK MANAGING DIRECTOR 40 $115K
board members · 5
  • ARTURO J GARCIA — MEMBER
  • HIRA JALEEL — MEMBER
  • KIKIOPE O OLUWARORE — MEMBER
  • SEAN GIFFORD — MEMBER
  • WILLIAM BENCH — PRESIDENT
relationships · 30

Who they work with

  • Animal Charity Evaluators Funder — Recognized Aquatic Life Institute as one of the most effective animal charities in 2024
  • Animal Charity Evaluators Network — Recognized as a recommended charity by Animal Charity Evaluators.
  • Animal Law Italia Partner — Collaborates with Dr. Lorenzo Fruscella, Campaign Lead at Animal Law Italia, on aquatic animal policy initiatives.
  • Animal Legal Defense Fund Partner — Publicly acknowledges collaboration with ALI on policy initiatives to ban octopus farming.
  • Aquaculture Stewardship Council Partner — Collaborated with ASC over five years to shape the revision of its Farm Standard, resulting in a top ranking in the 2024 Aquaculture Certification Schemes Benchmark
  • Aquaculture Stewardship Council Partner — Collaborates with ALI on improving animal health and welfare in seafood farming, incorporating ALI's feedback into certification standards.
  • Aquatic Animal Alliance Coalition — Collaborative network through which ALI coordinates advocacy efforts, including letters to Spain and Chile.
  • Aquatic Animal Alliance Coalition — Founded and expands the Aquatic Animal Alliance, a coalition of nonprofits supporting aquatic animal welfare.
  • Aquatic Animal Alliance Network — Network of 140+ member organizations in 70+ countries collaborating on aquatic animal welfare, facilitated by ALI
  • Aquatic Animal Policy (AAP) focus group Coalition — Launched and participates in the AAP focus group with policy specialists to advance legal and governmental reforms for aquatic animals.
  • Aquatic Life Institute YouTube Network — Hosts video content on YouTube as part of its outreach and resource-sharing strategy.
  • Blueyou Partner — Collaborated with ALI to develop and implement the first animal welfare policy for a sustainable seafood portfolio brand globally.
  • Cambridge University Press Partner — Cited as publisher of research on wild finfish capture numbers used in advocacy.
  • European Union Partner — Engages with the EU to influence changes in policies related to aquatic animal welfare.
  • FAO Partner — Engaged in policy discussions and spoke at FAO GCA +20, influencing global aquaculture policy.
  • FAO Partner — Engages with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to influence global policy on aquatic animal welfare.
  • Faunalytics Partner — Cited as source for global animal slaughter statistics used in research and advocacy.
  • Fishcount.org.uk Partner — Cited as source for farmed fish and crustacean count estimates used in research and advocacy.
  • Friend of the Sea Partner — Global seafood certifier that prohibited certification of octopus and cephalopod farming, influenced by ALI's advocacy.
  • Fundación Derecho y Defensa Animal Partner — Cosigned a joint letter to the Chilean government opposing funding for octopus farming research.
  • Fundación Veg Partner — Collaborates with ALI as a member of the Aquatic Animal Alliance to advance aquatic animal welfare.
  • Giving What We Can Network — Listed as a recommended charity by Giving What We Can.
  • Hilton Foods Partner — Published a comprehensive crustacean welfare policy with support from ALI.
  • Marks & Spencer Partner — Advanced crustacean welfare in alignment with ALI's recommendations, including opposing prawn eyestalk ablation.
  • Mongabay Partner — Publishes op-eds authored by ALI on marine conservation and octopus farming.
  • RSPCA Partner — Global seafood certifier that prohibited certification of octopus and cephalopod farming, influenced by ALI's advocacy.
  • Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Partner — Engaged with RSPCA's performance in the 2024 Aquaculture Certification Schemes Benchmark, where it ranked second for aquatic animal welfare
  • Tesco Partner — Published a comprehensive crustacean welfare policy with support from ALI.
  • UNFPA Government — Cited as source for global population data used in advocacy context.
  • Waitrose Partner — Advanced crustacean welfare in alignment with ALI's recommendations, including opposing prawn eyestalk ablation.
strategies · 4

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Integrated Advocacy and Research for Systems Change
    methodology: integrated_advocacy_model
    By integrating research, coalition-building, and advocacy within one organization, we enable timely communication and collaborative action that drives systemic improvements in aquatic animal welfare, because unified and evidence-based efforts produce greater policy and market impact than fragmented approaches.
  • Recognition-Protection-Prioritization Framework for Measuring and Driving Impact
    methodology: recognition-protection-prioritization
    By advancing welfare through a three-stage framework—recognition, protection, and prioritization—we create a measurable pathway for systemic change, because making welfare visible and normatively embedded ensures sustained institutional and market-level transformation.
  • Science-Based Supply Chain Integration for Welfare Advancement
    methodology: science-based_supply_chain_integration
    By applying a science-based approach across supply chains, we advance aquatic animal welfare as part of global wellbeing, because integrating scientific rigor into production systems ensures scalable, evidence-driven improvements in welfare outcomes.
  • Upstream Systems Change Through Norm and Policy Embedding
    methodology: upstream_systems_change
    By focusing on upstream systemic change, we embed aquatic animal welfare into policies, systems, and social norms to prevent suffering at scale, because preventing institutionalized harm is more effective and sustainable than addressing it after systems are entrenched.