Abstract
Globally, human society faces the challenge of providing food to a growing population, at the same time that the effects of climate change and resource depletion must be addressed. Aquaculture allows to ensure a safe supply of different marine species and is a major technological and biological undertaking. Taking into account that in Sonora (Mexico), there are more than 200 aquaculture plants, the analysis of this sector implies a joint and harmonized assessment, considering not only life cycle assessment (LCA), but also data envelopment analysis (DEA). This study focuses on the application of LCA + DEA methodology to assess the ecoefficiency of 38 semi-intensive shrimp farms located in the state of Sonora. LCA results showed that feed management and electricity consumption are the main critical points in almost all the impact categories. Further improvement actions were evaluated, the replacement of wheat meal for Dried Distiller Grains with Solubles (DDGS) resulted in environmental impact reductions ranged from 2% to 57%, depending on the impact category. On the other hand, the installation of photovoltaic panels in the area was evaluated, looking for a shift towards a less carbon-intensive energy production. Overall, the implementation of these improvement measures will contribute to increased environmental protection and resource efficiency.
Highlights
Human society faces the enormous challenge of providing food for a continuously growing population while withstanding the effects of climate change and widespread degradation of natural resources
The fisheries sector plays an important role in social agendas, as evidenced by the strategies defined in the Sustainable Development Goals of Agenda 2030 (United Nations, 2015)
Larvae are primarily responsible for environmental burdens in most impact cate gories, except for freshwater eutrophication and water consumption
Summary
Human society faces the enormous challenge of providing food for a continuously growing population while withstanding the effects of climate change and widespread degradation of natural resources. Fish consumption per capita increases by an average of about 1.5% per year (FAO, 2020). Considering this situation of increasing demand, aquaculture shows strong potential for food security and can be used as a promising alternative to current intensive fishing (Little et al, 2016). In the latest statistics recorded by FAO, global fish consumption peaked at approximately 171 million tonnes, and aquaculture represented 47% of total production (FAO, 2018). Current aquaculture is very diverse, with the most produced species ranging from finfish such as carp, rainbow trout or salmon, to all kinds of molluscs and bivalves such as white shrimp, clams or oysters (OECD, 2017). Asian countries dominate the production, there is a contribution from some American countries, with the outstanding share of Mexico (OECD, 2017)
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