Carbon footprint analysis in the aquaculture industry: Assessment of an ecological shrimp farm

Abstract

The study uses life cycle assessment to analyze the carbon footprint of an ecological shrimp farm located at Yijhu, Taiwan. The procedural study contains primary and secondary data. The quantization procedure follows the ISO/TS 14067. This study aims to estimate the white shrimp full life cycle carbon footprint using a function unit per kilogram. SimoPro 8.0 is used to calculate the carbon footprint in this study. The results show that the life cycle total carbon footprint of white shrimp is 6.9389 kgCO2e/kg. The top five factors in terms of carbon emissions were as follows: electricity (2.0093 kgCO2e/kg, 29.39%), feed (1.6395 kgCO2e/kg, 23.98%), indirect raw materials (1.4782 kgCO2e/kg, 21.62%), waste treatment (0.7783 kgCO2e/kg, 11.40%) and transport and refrigerant (0.7524 kgCO2e/kg, 11.01%). The results showed that wastewater treatment is one of the emission hotspots over the whole life cycle. To conclude, the carbon footprint of the shrimp supply chain can be reduced by employing energy-conserving technology, by utilizing simple wastewater treatment procedures, and by using territorial plants as feed, and such moves could help this industry achieve its goals with regard to a sustainable environment.