Environmental, economic, and social sustainability in aquaculture: the aquaculture performance indicators

• Published in: Nature communications 2024-06, Vol.15 (1), p.5274-9, Article 5274
• Main Authors: Garlock, Taryn M., Asche, Frank, Anderson, James L., Eggert, Håkan, Anderson, Thomas M., Che, Bin, Chávez, Carlos A., Chu, Jingjie, Chukwuone, Nnaemeka, Dey, Madan M., Fitzsimmons, Kevin, Flores, Jimely, Guillen, Jordi, Kumar, Ganesh, Liu, Lijun, Llorente, Ignacio, Nguyen, Ly, Nielsen, Rasmus, Pincinato, Ruth B. M., Sudhakaran, Pratheesh O., Tibesigwa, Byela, Tveteras, Ragnar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 704/172/4081; 704/844/843; Animals; Aquaculture; Aquaculture - economics; Aquaculture - methods; Business metrics; Conservation of Natural Resources - economics; Conservation of Natural Resources - methods; Earth and Related Environmental Sciences; Environment; Environmental impact; Fisheries - economics; Food production; Food technology; Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Indicators; multidisciplinary; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Social sustainability; Sustainability; Sustainable aquaculture; Sustainable Development - economics
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49556-8

Aquaculture is a rapidly growing food production technology, but there are significant concerns related to its environmental impact and adverse social effects. We examine aquaculture outcomes in a three pillars of sustainability framework by analyzing data collected using the Aquaculture Performance Indicators. Using this approach, comparable data has been collected for 57 aquaculture systems worldwide on 88 metrics that measure social, economic, or environmental outcomes. We first examine the relationships among the three pillars of sustainability and then analyze performance in the three pillars by technology and species. The results show that economic, social, and environmental outcomes are, on average, mutually reinforced in global aquaculture systems. However, the analysis also shows significant variation in the degree of sustainability in different aquaculture systems, and weak performance of some production systems in some dimensions provides opportunity for innovative policy measures and investment to further align sustainability objectives. Garlock and colleagues analyze 57 aquaculture systems worldwide on 88 metrics that measure social, economic, or environmental outcomes. They find significant variation in the degree of sustainability in different aquaculture systems, and weak performance of some production systems in some dimensions provides opportunity for innovative policy measures and investment to further align sustainability objectives.