Review and advancement of the marine biotic resource use metric in seafood LCAs: a case study of Norwegian salmon feed

Cashion, Tim; Hornborg, Sara; Ziegler, Friederike; Hognes, Erik Skontorp; Tyedmers, Peter

doi:10.1007/s11367-016-1092-y

Cited by 43 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 73 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Indeed, given the highly divergent environmental “costs” associated with many of them, feed formulators and other consumers of meals or oils seeking to produce more sustainable products should attend closely to their unique characteristics. In this context, this article echoes previous work that highlights the importance of harvesting low trophic level species from ecosystems with high transfer efficiencies for minimized biotic impact (Cashion et al ., ; Parker & Tyedmers, ), and from fisheries that are fuel efficient, either because of the gear used, stock status, or species characteristics (Parker & Tyedmers, ; Ziegler & Hornborg, ). These “principles” function well in the absence of other available information on the abiotic and biotic impacts of these fisheries products.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Global reduction fisheries and their products in the context of sustainable limits

2017

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Globally, one-sixth of landings from marine capture fisheries are destined for the production of fishmeal and fish oil (FMFO), which are currently overwhelming utilized by fed aquaculture. Many different species are used globally for the production of FMFO, but little concern has been given to the divergent environmental and ecological impacts of FMFO products based on species, ecosystem and fishing gear used in their capture. We evaluated the variable environmental performance of FMFO products from a wide range of fisheries whose products are either primarily intended for reduction or whose by-products are redirected to reduction. Assessed fisheries accounted for 44% of global reduction fishery landings in 2014. Analysis was conducted on the basis of two measures: the carbon footprint (i.e., greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions) and the marine footprint (i.e., primary production required [PPR]). We found large differences between the impacts of FMFO products across the 18 reduction fisheries examined. Cumulatively, we estimate that reduction fisheries emitted 4.6 million tonnes of CO 2 -e GHGs in 2014, and appropriated over 4% of primary production in some ecosystems, demonstrating a non-trivial impact. As demand for aquafeeds grow, the sustainable sourcing of raw material inputs will be of great importance. Results here suggest that the source of FMFO inputs can have dramatic effects on the environmental performance of fish feeds and fed aquaculture. We recommend further research on the environmental and ecological impacts of food production systems, and specifically to understand these results in relation to global production and sustainable boundaries.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The energetic content of meal was species specific whereas oil was assumed to be constant following Cashion et al . (). Equation was used to express the area, F x , required to sustain production of one tonne of fishmeal or fish oil adapted from Parker and Tyedmers ().…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Global reduction fisheries and their products in the context of sustainable limits

2017

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, toxicity potentials were not included because many of the chemicals and therapeutants used in aquaculture have not been well characterised for LCA purposes. Similarly, net primary productivity (NPP) was not included because methods are still not well defined (Cashion et al 2016), and often, the category does not indicate the sensitivity of biotic resources. Impacts on biodiversity are not included because in many circumstances, the effects are difficult to measure and/or characterise throughout the VC (e.g.…”

Section: Assessment Methods and Impact Categoriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping the impacts of farmed Scottish salmon from a life cycle perspective

Newton

Little

2017

Int J Life Cycle Assess

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose The European Union relies on seafood imports to supply growing demand that European production has failed to meet. Politically motivated media reports have denigrated competing imports in favour of local production. While life cycle assessment (LCA) measures global impact of value chains, it often fails to contextualise them. Using LCA, this article takes farmed Scottish Atlantic salmon as a case study of Blocal^production to identify and map the contributions to global environmental impact. Methods Data on the Scottish salmon value chain were collected by structured survey from a large international feed mill, six farms and a major processor. Secondary data were collected from available literature on feed ingredients and background data from EcoInvent2.2. A mid-point CML2001 approach was adopted focussing on global warming potential (GWP), acidification potential (AP), eutrophication potential, ozone depletion potential, photo-chemical oxidation potential, consumptive water use and land use. Results were displayed as contribution analyses of materials and processes and mapped geographically using area plots. Results and discussion Far from being a Blocally^produced commodity, nearly 50% of the feed ingredients were sourced from South America and less than 25% originated in the UK.It was found that over 90% of the impact to farm-gate was embodied in feed, apart from eutrophication potential which was high at the farm from direct nitrogenous emissions into the marine environment. The majority of impacts do not occur in Scotland, particularly for land and water use, which occur at a more geographically significant level than GWP or AP, which are more global or regional impacts, respectively. High GWP emissions from vegetable-based ingredients were related to soil management and energy intensive processes such as wet milling to produce gluten from wheat and maize, sunflower and rapeseed oil processing. Conclusions The results show that in an age of globalised commodity trading, concerns around Blocal^production are often misleading. As consumers try to make more responsible purchase choices, they may be misled over the global impacts their choices are having. There are clearly trade-offs between different feed ingredients, especially regarding substitution of marine ingredients with those of vegetable origin. While marine ingredients perform comparatively well, they are highly limited, and biodiversity impacts of different ingredients are less clear and difficult to compare.

show abstract

“…The under-representation of biological impacts, which are key components of sustainable diets, is not restricted to seafood and has been found across the sustainable diet literature (Jones et al, 2016). Modelling of fishing impacts on stocks and marine ecosystems has advanced in recent years (Plagányi et al, 2014), with several marine biotic resource use metrics under development for use in seafood LCAs (Cashion, Hornborg, Ziegler, Hognes, & Tyedmers, 2016;Emanuelsson, Ziegler, Pihl, Skold, & Sonesson, 2014;Langlois, Fréon, Delgenes, Steyer, & Hélias, 2014). The sustainable diet literature has failed to keep apace of these developments, presumably as a result of the historical separation of seafood from food system research and discourse, as well as the difficulty in comparing a wild food source to agriculture, and in applying methods for assessing impacts on land to the sea and vice versa.…”

Section: Theme Sourcementioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the inclusion of seafood in the sustainable diet literature

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The literature on sustainable diets is broad in its scope, and application yet is consistently supportive of a move away from animal‐based diets towards more plant‐based diets. The positioning of seafood within the sustainable diet literature is less clear. A literature review was conducted to examine how the environmental impacts of seafood consumption are assessed and what conclusions are being drawn about the inclusion of seafood in a sustainable diet. Seafood is an essential part of the global food system but is not adequately addressed in most of the sustainable diet literature. Aquaculture, the world's fastest growing food sector, was considered by very few papers. Seafood consumption was commonly presented as a dilemma due to the perceived trade‐offs between positive health outcomes from eating seafood and concerns of overfishing. A number of studies included seafood as part of their sustainable diet scenario, or as part of a diet that had lower impacts than current consumption. Most of the indicators used were biophysical, with a strong focus on greenhouse gas emissions, and very few studies addressed biological or ecological impacts. The assessment of seafood was limited in many studies due to relevant data sets not being incorporated into the models used. Where they were used, data sources and methodological choices were often not stated thereby limiting the transparency of many studies. Both farmed and wild‐capture production methods need to be integrated into research on the impacts of diets and future food scenarios to better understand and promote the benefits of sustainable diets.

show abstract

Review and advancement of the marine biotic resource use metric in seafood LCAs: a case study of Norwegian salmon feed

Cited by 43 publications

References 73 publications

Global reduction fisheries and their products in the context of sustainable limits

Global reduction fisheries and their products in the context of sustainable limits

Mapping the impacts of farmed Scottish salmon from a life cycle perspective

Assessing the inclusion of seafood in the sustainable diet literature

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About