Resource Use in Mariculture: A Case Study in Southeastern China

Tomás Marín, Jing Wu, Xu Wu, Zimin Ying, Qiaoling Lu, Yiyuan Hong, Xiaoyan Wang and Wu Yang
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Tomás Marín: College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Jing Wu: College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Xu Wu: Zhejiang Economic Information Center, Hangzhou 310006, China
Zimin Ying: College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Qiaoling Lu: College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Yiyuan Hong: College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Xiaoyan Wang: College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Wu Yang: College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 5, 1-21

Abstract: China is the biggest provider of aquaculture products, and the industry is still growing rapidly. Further development of the sector will affect the provision of ecosystem services that maintain the livelihood of local populations. In particular, the current size and growth rate of China’s mariculture has raised many environmental concerns, but very few studies of this sector have been conducted to date. Here, we report the resource use in the production of six main Chinese mariculture products ( Larimichthys crocea , Apostichopus japonicus , Haliotis spp., Laminaria japonica , Gracilaria spp., Porphyra spp.), taking the city of Ningde as a case study. We used the life cycle assessment framework and the Cumulated Exergy Demand indicator to quantify resource use, and implemented a Monte Carlo simulation where model uncertainty was included using various methods. The mean exergy demand values of the production of one live-weight ton of large yellow croaker, sea cucumber, abalone, laminaria, gracilaria, and porphyra are 106 GJ eq., 65 GJ eq., 126 GJ eq., 0.25 GJ eq., 1.55 GJ eq., and 0.98 GJ eq., respectively. For animal products, 45–90% of the impacts come from the feed requirements, while in seaweed production, 83–99% of the impacts are linked to the fuel used in operation and maintenance activities. Policies oriented toward efficient resource management in the mariculture sector thus should take the farm design, input management, and spatial planning of marine areas as the main targets to guide current practices into more sustainable ones in the future. Improvements in all those aspects can effectively increase resource efficiency in local mariculture production and additionally reduce other environmental impacts both locally and globally.

Keywords: aquaculture; coastal ecosystem management; exergy; life cycle assessment; marine eco-civilization; spillover effect (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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