Current and Future Potential of Shellfish and Algae Mariculture Carbon Sinks in China

Qiuying Lai, Jie Ma, Fei He, Aiguo Zhang, Dongyan Pei and Minghui Yu
Additional contact information
Qiuying Lai: Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing 210042, China
Jie Ma: Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing 210042, China
Fei He: Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing 210042, China
Aiguo Zhang: Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing 210042, China
Dongyan Pei: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
Minghui Yu: College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing 210024, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 14, 1-15

Abstract: Shellfish and algae mariculture make up an important part of the marine fishery carbon sink. Carbon sink research is necessary to ensure China achieves its goal of carbon neutrality. This study used the material quality assessment method to estimate the carbon sink capacity of shellfish and algae. Product value, carbon storage value, and oxygen release value were used to calculate the economic value of shellfish and algae carbon sequestration. The results showed that the annual average shellfish and algae carbon sink in China was 1.10 million tons from 2003 to 2019, of which shellfish accounted for 91.63%, wherein Crassostrea gigas , Ruditapes philippinarum , and Chlamys farreri were the main contributors. The annual average economic value of China’s shellfish and algae carbon sequestration was USD 71,303.56 million, and the product value was the main contributor, accounting for 99.11%. The carbon sink conversion ratios of shellfish and algae were 8.37% and 5.20%, respectively, thus making shellfish the aquaculture species with the strongest carbon sink capacity and the greatest carbon sink potential. The estimated growth rate in the shellfish and algae removable carbon sink was 33,900 tons/year in China, but this trend was uncertain. The capacity for carbon sequestration and exchange by aquaculture can be improved by expanding breeding space, promoting multi-level comprehensive breeding modes, and marine artificial upwelling projects.

Keywords: carbon sink; blue carbon; shellfish; algae; carbon neutrality; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/14/8873/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/14/8873/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:14:p:8873-:d:868490

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().