Ecological efficiency evaluation of marine ranching based on the Super-SBM model: A case study of Shandong

Abstract

To investigate the efficiency level of marine ranching in the process of ecological management and the balance between the economy and ecology, we proposed a comprehensive index system based on the entropy weight method and measured the Marine Ranching Ecological Efficiency (MREE) of 18 marine ranches in Shandong Province through the Super-SBM model. On the basis of MREE scores, we divided the marine ranches into high-efficiency, medium-efficiency and low-efficiency marine ranches and carried out a comparative analysis. Then, we performed a cause analysis of the efficiency loss. The results showed that the mean of the MREE scores was 0.6; the best-practice marine ranching had an MREE score of 1.877 while the worst one had an MREE score of 0.0645, wherein the Pure Technical Efficiency (PTE) score was the key dimension between the decomposition efficiency scores of MREE scores respected by the Technical Efficiency (TE) scores. The result indicates that the redundancy of inputs and undesirable outputs and the deficiency of ecological outputs are major causes of loss of MREE, which reflects inefficient resource allocation efficiency, deficient government and technical support, and inadequate habitat construction and risk prevention of these marine ranches.