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Life Cycle Assessment of Frozen Tilapia Fillets From Indonesian Lake‐Based and Pond‐Based Intensive Aquaculture Systems
Author(s) -
Pelletier Nathan,
Tyedmers Peter
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of industrial ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.377
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1530-9290
pISSN - 1088-1980
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-9290.2010.00244.x
Subject(s) - life cycle assessment , aquaculture , environmental impact assessment , oreochromis mossambicus , tilapia , resource (disambiguation) , business , fishery , environmental science , indonesian , production (economics) , fish <actinopterygii> , ecology , biology , economics , computer network , linguistics , philosophy , computer science , macroeconomics
Summary We used life cycle assessment to evaluate a subset of the cradle‐to‐destination‐port environmental impacts associated with the production, processing, and transportation of frozen, packaged Indonesian tilapia ( Oreochromis niloticus ) fillets to ports in Chicago and Rotterdam. Specifically, we evaluated the cumulative energy use; biotic resource use; and global warming, acidifying, and eutrophying emissions at each life cycle stage and in aggregate. We identify the importance of least environmental cost feed sourcing for reducing supply chain environmental impacts. We also highlight the need for more effective nutrient cycling in intensive aquaculture. The environmental trade‐offs inherent in substituting technological inputs for ecosystem services in intensive pond‐based versus lake‐based production systems are discussed. We further call for more nuanced considerations of comparative environmental advantage in the production and interregional trade of food commodities than has been characteristic of historic food miles discussions. Significant opportunities exist for improving environmental performance in tilapia aquaculture. This product compares favorably, however, with several other fishery, aquaculture, and animal husbandry products, according to the suite of impact categories considered in this study.