The Prospects of Analysing the Environmental Impacts of Egyptian Aquaculture Using Life Cycle Assessment

Abstract

Aquaculture is the fastest growing food producing sector. It accounts for nearly 50% of the world food fish. It plays an important role in the economy, providing thousands of jobs for farm technicians and skilled labor. Furthermore, new industries and financial services in support of aquaculture are also providing employment opportunities. In Egypt, very rapid developments have occurred as well. Egypt's aquaculture production (1097544 tonnes in 2013) is by far the largest of any African country and places it 9th in terms of global aquaculture production. This expansion has been accompanied by a gradual shift from extensive and semi-intensive culture systems to more intensive feed dependent system. Although the importance of aquaculture is often understated, the consequent implications on the environment are difficult to ignore. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a useful tool to improve the understanding of the contribution of different production systems to regional sustainable development. Increasing number of LCA studies of aquaculture have been published. The current study reviews the different LCA approaches in both global and regional aquaculture industry focusing on type of studies, production systems and considered environmental impacts. It also, identifies focus points required for future investigations.