Elsevier

Marine Policy

Volume 57, July 2015, Pages 178-181
Marine Policy

Short Communication
Incorporating carbon footprints into seafood sustainability certification and eco-labels

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2015.03.009Get rights and content
Under a Creative Commons license
open access

Highlights

  • Sustainability “eco-labels” are now widespread in the seafood industry.

  • Seafood eco-labels rarely consider the carbon footprint of a given product.

  • Many “environmentally-friendly” seafoods have enormous carbon footprints.

  • This paper discusses next steps towards incorporating carbon footprints into seafood eco-labels.

Abstract

The seafood industry has become increasingly interconnected at a global scale, with fish the most traded commodity worldwide. Travel to the farthest reaches of the oceans for capture is now common practice, and subsequent transport to market can require hundreds to thousands of miles of travel by sea and air. Refrigeration of seafood products is generally required at all stages of the journey from ocean to dinner plate, resulting in substantial energy expenditure. Energy input for aquaculture (including mariculture) products can also be high, namely due to the large amounts of feed required to support fish growth. As a result of these factors, the seafood industry has a substantial carbon footprint. Surprisingly, however, carbon footprints of seafood products are rarely integrated into assessments of their sustainability by eco-labels, sustainability certification, or consumer seafood sustainability guides. Suggestions are provided here for how carbon footprints could be incorporated within seafood sustainability schemes.

Keywords

Seafood
Eco-label
Sustainability certification
Carbon footprint
Climate change
Life cycle analysis (LCA)

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