The environmental impacts of pelagic fish caught by Scottish vessels

Frances Sandison; Jon Hillier; Astley Hastings; Paul Macdonald; Beth Mouat; C. Tara Marshall

doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2020.105850

The environmental impacts of pelagic fish caught by Scottish vessels

Frances Sandison^*, Jon Hillier, Astley Hastings, Paul Macdonald, Beth Mouat, C. Tara Marshall

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

20 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Food production is estimated to emit between 20–30 % of global anthropogenic carbon emissions. The need to achieve net zero emissions requires a transition to low carbon, sustainable food sources. Of the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for food production, only 4 % are attributed to wild capture fisheries. However, within seafood GHG studies a wide range of estimates can be found across different species, fishing methods and regions. This study assesses the environmental impact of fish capture, including the carbon footprint (CF), by the Scottish pelagic fleet, a highly modernised fleet targeting herring, mackerel and blue whiting in the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean. A life cycle assessment (LCA) was undertaken to provide a standardised comparison of pelagic fish with other seafood studies. One kg of whole round fish caught by the Scottish pelagic trawl fleet had a CF of 0.452 kg CO₂ eq. Fuel burned during fishing operations was the largest contributing factor, accounting for approximately 96% of a CF. This figure was consistent with the expected results for a fishery for small pelagics, which are typically under 1 kg CO₂ eq. per kg of whole fish landed. When contrasted with other seafood LCAs, the results were found to be lower than most other seafood. Our results demonstrate that Scottish-caught pelagic fish are a low carbon food source that could contribute to minimising food-related GHG emissions.

Original language	English
Article number	105850
Number of pages	12
Journal	Fisheries Research
Volume	236
Early online date	23 Dec 2020
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2020.105850
Publication status	Published - 30 Apr 2021

Bibliographical note

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank all industry stakeholders that provided information for this study, and give special thanks to Steve Mackinson and Ian Gatt (Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association) for their advice and support. We are grateful to Dr. F. Ziegler and another anonymous reviewer for their detailed and constructive critiques.

Funding Information:
This research was undertaken as part of PhD studies and funded by the following institutions: Scottish Pelagic Sustainability Group , Shetland Islands Council , University of Aberdeen , University of the Highlands and Islands , Shetland Fish Producers’ Organisation .

Keywords

Carbon footprint
LCA
Pelagic fish
Scotland

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1016/j.fishres.2020.105850Licence: Unspecified

Cite this

@article{78407a652c25430d80b05aae6a6a59f7,

title = "The environmental impacts of pelagic fish caught by Scottish vessels",

abstract = "Food production is estimated to emit between 20–30 % of global anthropogenic carbon emissions. The need to achieve net zero emissions requires a transition to low carbon, sustainable food sources. Of the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for food production, only 4 % are attributed to wild capture fisheries. However, within seafood GHG studies a wide range of estimates can be found across different species, fishing methods and regions. This study assesses the environmental impact of fish capture, including the carbon footprint (CF), by the Scottish pelagic fleet, a highly modernised fleet targeting herring, mackerel and blue whiting in the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean. A life cycle assessment (LCA) was undertaken to provide a standardised comparison of pelagic fish with other seafood studies. One kg of whole round fish caught by the Scottish pelagic trawl fleet had a CF of 0.452 kg CO2 eq. Fuel burned during fishing operations was the largest contributing factor, accounting for approximately 96% of a CF. This figure was consistent with the expected results for a fishery for small pelagics, which are typically under 1 kg CO2 eq. per kg of whole fish landed. When contrasted with other seafood LCAs, the results were found to be lower than most other seafood. Our results demonstrate that Scottish-caught pelagic fish are a low carbon food source that could contribute to minimising food-related GHG emissions.",

keywords = "Carbon footprint, LCA, Pelagic fish, Scotland",

author = "Frances Sandison and Jon Hillier and Astley Hastings and Paul Macdonald and Beth Mouat and Marshall, {C. Tara}",

note = "Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank all industry stakeholders that provided information for this study, and give special thanks to Steve Mackinson and Ian Gatt (Scottish Pelagic Fishermen{\textquoteright}s Association) for their advice and support. We are grateful to Dr. F. Ziegler and another anonymous reviewer for their detailed and constructive critiques. Funding Information: This research was undertaken as part of PhD studies and funded by the following institutions: Scottish Pelagic Sustainability Group , Shetland Islands Council , University of Aberdeen , University of the Highlands and Islands , Shetland Fish Producers{\textquoteright} Organisation . ",

year = "2021",

month = apr,

day = "30",

doi = "10.1016/j.fishres.2020.105850",

language = "English",

volume = "236",

journal = "Fisheries Research",

issn = "0165-7836",

publisher = "Elsevier Science B. V.",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - The environmental impacts of pelagic fish caught by Scottish vessels

AU - Sandison, Frances

AU - Hillier, Jon

AU - Hastings, Astley

AU - Macdonald, Paul

AU - Mouat, Beth

AU - Marshall, C. Tara

N1 - Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank all industry stakeholders that provided information for this study, and give special thanks to Steve Mackinson and Ian Gatt (Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association) for their advice and support. We are grateful to Dr. F. Ziegler and another anonymous reviewer for their detailed and constructive critiques. Funding Information: This research was undertaken as part of PhD studies and funded by the following institutions: Scottish Pelagic Sustainability Group , Shetland Islands Council , University of Aberdeen , University of the Highlands and Islands , Shetland Fish Producers’ Organisation .

PY - 2021/4/30

Y1 - 2021/4/30

N2 - Food production is estimated to emit between 20–30 % of global anthropogenic carbon emissions. The need to achieve net zero emissions requires a transition to low carbon, sustainable food sources. Of the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for food production, only 4 % are attributed to wild capture fisheries. However, within seafood GHG studies a wide range of estimates can be found across different species, fishing methods and regions. This study assesses the environmental impact of fish capture, including the carbon footprint (CF), by the Scottish pelagic fleet, a highly modernised fleet targeting herring, mackerel and blue whiting in the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean. A life cycle assessment (LCA) was undertaken to provide a standardised comparison of pelagic fish with other seafood studies. One kg of whole round fish caught by the Scottish pelagic trawl fleet had a CF of 0.452 kg CO2 eq. Fuel burned during fishing operations was the largest contributing factor, accounting for approximately 96% of a CF. This figure was consistent with the expected results for a fishery for small pelagics, which are typically under 1 kg CO2 eq. per kg of whole fish landed. When contrasted with other seafood LCAs, the results were found to be lower than most other seafood. Our results demonstrate that Scottish-caught pelagic fish are a low carbon food source that could contribute to minimising food-related GHG emissions.

AB - Food production is estimated to emit between 20–30 % of global anthropogenic carbon emissions. The need to achieve net zero emissions requires a transition to low carbon, sustainable food sources. Of the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for food production, only 4 % are attributed to wild capture fisheries. However, within seafood GHG studies a wide range of estimates can be found across different species, fishing methods and regions. This study assesses the environmental impact of fish capture, including the carbon footprint (CF), by the Scottish pelagic fleet, a highly modernised fleet targeting herring, mackerel and blue whiting in the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean. A life cycle assessment (LCA) was undertaken to provide a standardised comparison of pelagic fish with other seafood studies. One kg of whole round fish caught by the Scottish pelagic trawl fleet had a CF of 0.452 kg CO2 eq. Fuel burned during fishing operations was the largest contributing factor, accounting for approximately 96% of a CF. This figure was consistent with the expected results for a fishery for small pelagics, which are typically under 1 kg CO2 eq. per kg of whole fish landed. When contrasted with other seafood LCAs, the results were found to be lower than most other seafood. Our results demonstrate that Scottish-caught pelagic fish are a low carbon food source that could contribute to minimising food-related GHG emissions.

KW - Carbon footprint

KW - LCA

KW - Pelagic fish

KW - Scotland

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85098073973&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.fishres.2020.105850

DO - 10.1016/j.fishres.2020.105850

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85098073973

SN - 0165-7836

VL - 236

JO - Fisheries Research

JF - Fisheries Research

M1 - 105850

ER -

The environmental impacts of pelagic fish caught by Scottish vessels

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this