The mangrove-based coastal and nearshore fisheries of Bangladesh: ecology,exploitation and management

The mangrove forest of Bangladesh, the largest continuous mangrove forest of the world, is one of the most important coastal features of the country. The existence of the mangrove has increased the values of other coastal and marine resources such as the coastal and marine fisheries by increasing productivity and supporting a wide biological diversity. The artisanal fishery, which is highly influenced by mangroves, has been contributing 85–95% of the total coastal and marine catch of Bangladesh. The mangrove also supports offshore and deep sea fisheries by playing a significant role as nursery ground for many deep sea fishes and shrimps including the giant tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) which is the major species of the industrial bottom trawl fishery of Bangladesh. The mangrove also contributes significantly in shrimp farming which has been the most significant export-oriented industry since the 1970s. However, the mangrove fisheries have been under intensive pressure from deleterious fishing activities and deliberate aquaculture development by destructing mangrove habitats. The impacts of mangrove have been reflected in the contribution of artisanal fishery catch that has been in a continuous decline since the 1980s. Shrimp farming has been the most destructive contributor to mangrove destruction with a corresponding loss of biological resources particularly the wild shrimp fishery. This paper reviews different aspects of the mangrove fisheries of Bangladesh and discusses the impacts of different fisheries. The paper identifies the importance of reviewing, amending and/or replacing the traditional management approaches by the new management techniques such as habitat restoration and stock enhancement in the natural environment; the paper also identifies the need for research findings in formulating and implementing new management approaches.     

The role of crustacean fisheries and aquaculture in global food security: past, present and future

The 1996 World Food Summit defined food security as "Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life". This paper looks at the status of production from both shrimp capture fisheries and shrimp aquaculture, as well as trade, in order to understand the contribution of the crustacean sector to overall fish production and thus to global food security. This paper also examines some sustainability issues that will potentially affect the contribution of the crustacean sector (particularly shrimp) to food security. These include sustainable shrimp capture fisheries, sustainable shrimp trade and sustainable shrimp aquaculture. The paper concludes that crustaceans are an important source of aquatic food protein. Production (as food and ornamental) and trade are extremely important for developing countries. It provides both economic development and empowerment in terms of contribution to GDP, consumption, employment, catch value and exports. The crustacean sector generates high value export products which enables producers to buy lower value products in the world market - thus a positive contribution to food security in both producing and exporting countries.     

A review on the present status and management of mangrove wetland habitat resources in Bangladesh with emphasis on mangrove fisheries and aquaculture

The mangrove forest of Bangladesh, the largest continuous mangrove bulk, is one of the most important features of the coastal area of the country. The existence of the mangrove has increased the values of other coastal and marine resources such as the coastal and marine fisheries by increasing productivity and supporting a wide biological diversity. The deltaic mangrove of Bangladesh is ecologically different from the other, mostly nondeltaic mangroves of the world and is unique also in its floral and faunal assemblage; therefore, a number of endangered plants and animals that are extinct from other parts of the world, are existing in Bangladesh mangrove. However, the mangrove has been under intensive pressure of exploitation for the last few decades which, in addition to direct clearance and conversion have placed the mangrove under extreme threat. Shrimp farming is the most destructive form of resource use the mangrove has been converted to, which contributed significantly to mangrove destruction with a corresponding loss of biological resources. Concerns have been raised among the ecologists, biologists, managers and policy makers since the early 1990s; deliberate destruction of mangrove and unplanned development of coastal aquaculture particularly shrimp aquaculture have been put under extreme criticism and the sustainability has been questioned. The present status of the mangrove resources including mangrove fisheries and aquaculture and management practices have been reviewed in this paper; impacts of different forms of human interventions and resource use have also been discussed. It is suggested that the management options and the policy aspects should be critically reviewed and amended accordingly; beneficiaries and stakeholders at all levels of resource exploitation must take part and contribute to conservation and management. An immediate need for mangrove conservation has been identified.     

Continent-specific Intake Fractions and Characterization Factors for Toxic Emissions: Does it make a Difference?

Goal and Scope The goal of this study is to explore the potentials and limitations of using LCA as the basis for setting ecolabelling criteria in developing countries. The practicality of using LCA for this purpose, as required by ISO 14020, has been criticised as lacking in transparency and scientific rigour. Furthermore, ecolabelling is not widespread in developing countries. The application of LCA has therefore been illustrated by using the specific case of shrimp aquaculture in Thailand, as a basis for ecolabelling criteria for a typical product intended for export from a developing country. Method For the LCA case study, the functional unit is the standard consumer-package size, containing 1.8 kg of frozen shrimp produced by conventional intensive aquaculture in Thailand, subject to an appropriate environmental management system. The impact assessment method used in this study is CML 2 Baseline 2000. Results According to the results from the LCA study, farming appears to be the key life cycle stage generating the most significant environmental impacts: abiotic depletion and global warming, which arise mainly from the use of energy; and eutrophication caused by wastewater discharged from the shrimp ponds. It is possible to cover these impacts by quantitative ecolabelling criteria. Other important impacts could not be quantified by the LCA: depletion of wild shrimp broodstock, impacts of trawling on marine biodiversity and the choice of suitable farm sites. These impacts, which are also related to the farming stage, must be covered by 'hurdle criteria'. Conclusions and recommendations. For the present case, LCA provides a basis for quantifying a number of important ecolabelling criteria related to the use of abiotic resources and to emissions. Other important issues, connected with the use of biotic natural resources and land, are not quantifiable by current LCA methodology, but were also revealed and clarified by using an LCA framework for the analysis. Thus, focussing the assessment on life cycle considerations, as required by ISO 14024, was effective in identifying all key environmental issues. In the light of this case study, main limitations and barriers associated with the application of LCA to setting ecolabelling criteria particularly in developing countries are discussed, including recommendations on how to overcome them.     

Capturing Ecosystem Services,Stakeholders' Preferences and Trade-Offs in Coastal Aquaculture Decisions: A Bayesian Belief Network Application

Aquaculture activities are embedded in complex social-ecological systems. However, aquaculture development decisions have tended to be driven by revenue generation, failing to account for interactions with the environment and the full value of the benefits derived from services provided by local ecosystems. Trade-offs resulting from changes in ecosystem services provision and associated impacts on livelihoods are also often overlooked. This paper proposes an innovative application of Bayesian belief networks - influence diagrams - as a decision support system for mediating trade-offs arising from the development of shrimp aquaculture in Thailand. Senior experts were consulted (n = 12) and primary farm data on the economics of shrimp farming (n = 20) were collected alongside secondary information on ecosystem services, in order to construct and populate the network. Trade-offs were quantitatively assessed through the generation of a probabilistic impact matrix. This matrix captures nonlinearity and uncertainty and describes the relative performance and impacts of shrimp farming management scenarios on local livelihoods. It also incorporates export revenues and provision and value of ecosystem services such as coastal protection and biodiversity. This research shows that Bayesian belief modeling can support complex decision-making on pathways for sustainable coastal aquaculture development and thus contributes to the debate on the role of aquaculture in social-ecological resilience and economic development.     

Virus diseases of farmed shrimp in the Western Hemisphere (the Americas): a review

Penaeid shrimp aquaculture is an important industry in the Americas, and the industry is based almost entirely on the culture of the Pacific White Shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei. Western Hemisphere shrimp farmers in 14 countries in 2004 produced more than 200,000 metric tons of shrimp, generated more than $2 billion in revenue, and employed more than 500,000 people. Disease has had a major impact on shrimp aquaculture in the Americas since it became a significant commercial entity in the 1970s. Diseases due to viruses, rickettsial-like bacteria, true bacteria, protozoa, and fungi have emerged as major diseases of farmed shrimp in the region. Many of the bacterial, fungal and protozoan caused diseases are managed using improved culture practices, routine sanitation, and the use of chemotherapeutics. However, the virus diseases have been far more problematic to manage and they have been responsible for the most costly epizootics. Examples include the Taura syndrome pandemic that began in 1991-1992 when the disease emerged in Ecuador, and the subsequent White Spot Disease pandemic that followed its introduction to Central America from Asia in 1999. Because of their socioeconomic significance to shrimp farming, seven of the nine crustacean diseases listed by the World Animal Organization (OIE) are virus diseases of shrimp. Of the seven virus diseases of penaeid shrimp, five are native to the Americas or have become enzootic following their introduction. The shrimp virus diseases in the Americas are increasingly being managed by exclusion using a combination of biosecurity and the practice of culturing domesticated specific pathogen-free (SPF) stocks or specific pathogen-resistant (SPR) stocks. Despite the significant challenges posed by disease, the shrimp farming industry of the Americas has responded to the challenges posed by disease and it has developed methods to manage its diseases and mature into a sustainable industry.     

INTEGRATING SEAWEEDS INTO MARINE AQUACULTURE SYSTEMS: A KEY TOWARD SUSTAINABILITY

The rapid development of intensive fed aquaculture (e.g. finfish and shrimp) throughout the world is associated with concerns about the environmental impacts of such often monospecific practices, especially where activities are highly geographically concentrated or located in suboptimal sites whose assimilative capacity is poorly understood and, consequently, prone to being exceeded. One of the main environmental issues is the direct discharge of significant nutrient loads into coastal waters from open-water systems and with the effluents from land-based systems. In its search for best management practices, the aquaculture industry should develop innovative and responsible practices that optimize its efficiency and create diversification, while ensuring the remediation of the consequences of its activities to maintain the health of coastal waters. To avoid pronounced shifts in coastal processes, conversion, not dilution, is a common-sense solution, used for centuries in Asian countries. By integrating fed aquaculture (finfish, shrimp) with inorganic and organic extractive aquaculture (seaweed and shellfish), the wastes of one resource user become a resource (fertilizer or food) for the others. Such a balanced ecosystem approach provides nutrient bioremediation capability, mutual benefits to the cocultured organisms, economic diversification by producing other value-added marine crops, and increased profitability per cultivation unit for the aquaculture industry. Moreover, as guidelines and regulations on aquaculture effluents are forthcoming in several countries, using appropriately selected seaweeds as renewable biological nutrient scrubbers represents a cost-effective means for reaching compliance by reducing the internalization of the total environmental costs. By adopting integrated polytrophic practices, the aquaculture industry should find increasing environmental, economic, and social acceptability and become a full and sustainable partner within the development of integrated coastal management frameworks.     

Historic emergence, impact and current status of shrimp pathogens in the Americas

Shrimp farming in the Americas began to develop in the late 1970s into a significant industry. In its first decade of development, the technology used was simple and postlarvae (PLs) produced from wild adults and wild caught PLs were used for stocking farms. Prior to 1990, there were no World Animal Health Organization (OIE) listed diseases, but that changed rapidly commensurate with the phenomenal growth of the global shrimp farming industry. There was relatively little international trade of live or frozen commodity shrimp between Asia and the Americas in those early years, and with a few exceptions, most of the diseases known before 1980 were due to disease agents that were opportunistic or part of the shrimps' local environment. Tetrahedral baculovirosis, caused by Baculovirus penaei (BP), and necrotizing hepatopancreatitis (NHP) and its bacterial agent Hepatobacterium penaei, were among the "American" diseases that eventually became OIE listed and have not become established outside of the Americas. As the industry grew after 1980, a number of new diseases that soon became OIE listed, emerged in the Americas or were introduced from Asia. Spherical baculovirus, caused by MBV, although discovered in the Americas in imported live Penaeus monodon, was subsequently found to be common in wild and farmed Asian, Australian and African penaeids. Infectious hypodermal and hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHHNV) was introduced from the Philippines in the mid 1970s with live P. monodon and was eventually found throughout the Americas and subsequently in much of the shrimp farming industry in the eastern hemisphere. Taura syndrome emerged in Penaeus vannamei farms in 1991-1992 in Ecuador and was transferred to SE Asia with live shrimp by 1999 where it also caused severe losses. White Spot Disease (WSD) caused by White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) emerged in East Asia in ～1992, and spread throughout most of the Asian shrimp farming industry by 1994. By 1995, WSSV reached the eastern USA via frozen commodity products and it reached the main shrimp farming countries of the Americas located on the Pacific side of the continents by the same mechanism in 1999. As is the case in Asia, WSD is the dominant disease problem of farmed shrimp in the Americas. The most recent disease to emerge in the Americas was infectious myonecrosis caused by IMN virus. As had happened before, within 3years of its discovery, the disease had been transferred to SE Asia with live P. vannamei, and because of its impact on the industry and potential for further spread in was listed by the OIE in 2005. Despite the huge negative impact of disease on the shrimp farming industry in the Americas, the industry has continued to grow and mature into a more sustainable industry. In marked contrast to 15-20years ago when PLs produced from wild adults and wild PLs were used to stock farms in the Americas, the industry now relies on domesticated lines of broodstock that have undergone selection for desirable characteristics including disease resistance.     

Spatiotemporal successions of shrimp gut microbial colonization: high consistency despite distinct species pool

Aquatic animals encounter suites of novel planktonic microbes during their development. Although hosts have been shown to exert strong selection on their gut microbiota from surrounding environment, to what extent and the generality that the gut microbiota and the underlying ecological processes are affected by biotic and abiotic variations are largely unclear. Here, these concerns were explored by coupling spatiotemporal data on gut and rearing water bacterial communities with environmental variables over shrimp life stages at spatially distant locations. Shrimp gut microbiotas significantly changed mirroring their development, as evidenced by gut bacterial signatures of shrimp life stage contributing 95.5% stratification accuracy. Shrimp sourced little (2.6%–15.8%) of their gut microbiota from their rearing water. This microbial resistance was reflected by weak compositional differences between shrimp farming spatially distinct locations where species pools were distinct. Consistently, the assembly of shrimp gut microbiota was not adequately explained by the rearing water variables and bacterial community, but rather by host-age-associated biotic features. The successions of shrimp gut microbiota were droved by replacement (βsim), rather than by nestedness (βnes), while those of bacterioplankton communities were equally governed by replacement and nestedness. Our study highlights how shrimp gut bacterial community assembly is coupled to their development, rearing species pool, and that the successional pattern of host-associated communities is differed from that of free-living bacteria.     

Biotreibstoffe aus Entwicklungsländern

Biofuels from developing countries The pressure for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, rising oil prices, but also the lobbying by the agricultural sector and the automotive industry have induced the recent boom on biofuels. Due to limited land availability, competition with food production and high overall environmental impacts, the sustainability market potential for biofuels is assumed to be significantly smaller than 10% of global fuel consumption. Nevertheless, niches for the sustainable production and use of biofuels exist especially in developing countries. It is often more sustainable to use biomass feedstock for local supply of electricity and heat than producing biofuels for export.     

Are public payments for organic farming cost-effective? Combining a decision-support model with LCA

Purpose  

The agricultural sector fulfils several functions such as the production of food energy and landscape conservation. An equilibrium between economic development and environmental protection should be found and research should aid political decision-making. In recent years, great efforts have been made to assess the environmental and economic implications of changes in both environmental and agricultural policies. Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been extended by cost functions and social parameters. The validation of suggestions for political measures can be improved by combining existing environmental and economic models. This approach is applied in this paper in order to compare an increased support for organic farming with specific environmental policy measures, focusing on the resulting impacts and socioeconomic indicators.     

Comparing global warming potential,energy use and land use of organic,conventional and integrated winter wheat production

To ensure a sustainable food supply for the growing population, the challenge is to find agricultural systems that can meet production requirements within environmental constraints and demands. This study compares the impacts of winter wheat production on energy use, land use and 100 years Global Warming Potential (GWP₁₀₀) under different arable farming systems and farming practices. Life cycle assessment was used to simulate the impacts of organic, conventional and integrated farming (IF) systems along the production chain from input production up to the farm gate. The IF system models were designed to combine the best practices from organic and conventional systems to reduce negative environmental impacts without significant yield reductions. An integrated system that used food waste digestate as a fertiliser, and utilised pesticides and no‐tillage had the lowest energy use and GWP per functional unit of 1000 kg wheat output. When the impacts of some specific practices for reducing energy use and GWP were compared, the highest energy use reductions were achieved by replacing synthetic nitrogen fertilisers with anaerobically treated food waste or nitrogen fixing crops, increasing yields through crop breeding and using no‐tillage instead of ploughing. The highest GWP reductions were achieved by using nitrification inhibitors, replacing synthetic nitrogen fertilisers and increasing yields. The major contributors to the uncertainty range of energy use were associated with machinery fuel use and the assumed crop yields. For GWP results, the main source of uncertainty related to the N₂O emissions. In conclusion, farming systems that combine the best practices from organic and conventional systems have potential to reduce negative environmental impacts while maintaining yield levels.     

Mangroves and brackishwater pond culture in the Philippines

Around 50% of mangrove loss in the Philippines can be traced to brackishwater pond construction. The decrease in mangroves from 450 000 ha in 1920 to 132 500 ha in 1990 has been accompanied by expansion of culture ponds to 223 000 ha in 1990. The history of fishpond development in the country includes a government-sponsored fishpond boom in the 1950-g and 1960s, the proconservation decade of the 1970s followed by a shrimp fever in the 1980s. Production from brackisshwater ponds has increased from 15 900 mt worth P7.6 million in 1938 to 267 000 mt valued at P6.5 billion in 1990. On the other hand, the maximum valuation of over $11 000 ha^–1 yr^–1 for unmanaged and managed mangrove forests makes them economically on par with the most profitable pond farming systems. The loss of mangrove systems and their varied goods and services is the single most important consequence of brackishwater pond culture in the Philippines. Moreover, intensive shrimp farming is associated with other ecological and socioeconomic effects such as pollution of coastal waters and decline in domestic food crops. New legislation and enforcement of existing laws, conservation of remaining mangroves, massive rehabilitation of denuded mangrove areas, and promotion of sustainable aquaculture and fisheries are recommended.     

对虾白斑综合征及其免疫防控

对虾是海水养殖的主导品种之一,在我国海洋农业中发挥重要作用。自20世纪90年代以来,白斑综合征频繁暴发,严重阻碍了对虾养殖业的健康发展。经过十几年的不懈努力,对虾白斑综合征暴发机制及其免疫防控研究发展迅速,取得了重要进展。简述了对虾白斑综合征和对虾抗病毒免疫的基本特征,总结了运用多种免疫学原理和技术途径在对虾中进行白斑综合征疫病防控所取得的主要成果,并概括了应用不同策略进行免疫防控的保护效果,以期为对虾养殖业的健康持续发展提供参考。     

Current Status of Genetics and Genomics of Reared Penaeid Shrimp: Information Relevant to Access and Benefit Sharing

At present, research and progress in shrimp genomics and genetics show significant developments. Shrimp genetics and genomics also show immense potential for an increased production in a way that meets shrimp culture progress goals for the third millennium. This review article aims to provide an overview of its current status and future direction, discusses questions that need focused research to address them, and summarizes areas where genetics and genomics knowledge can make a positive difference to shrimp culture sustainability. Sustainable progress of penaeid shrimps will depend upon feasible solutions for environmental, research, economic, consumer problems, proper development, and planning policy enforcement. It is recommended that increased funding for biotechnology research and progress be directed to expand worldwide commercial shrimp culture and address environmental and public health issues. For any researcher or shrimp company member who has attempted to or whom would like to thoroughly search the literature to gain a complete understanding of the current state of shrimp genetics and genomics, this publication will be an invaluable source of reference materials, some of which is reported here for the first time.     

稻渔综合种养的科学范式

21世纪是渔业的世纪。中国和世界水产业历经数十年的发展为人类应对食品危机做出了巨大贡献。然而,我国传统的水产业对产量的片面追求导致养殖环境日趋恶化,养殖生态系统不断退化,养殖业的可持续发展受到限制。传统稻田其氮素的流失亦是导致农业面源污染的主要原因之一。我国当前的环境问题源于复合生态系统演化进程的缺陷,解决当前的环境问题,必须从优化复合生态系统演化进程着眼。采用优化的生态循环水产养殖模式,如综合水产养殖则可以大大提高氮、磷等养分物质的利用率。稻渔综合种养是一种科学的复合生态模式,可以概括为三种模式,一种是在我国传统稻田养鱼的基础上,逐步发展起来的一种稻渔共生模式,可采取稻鱼、稻蟹、稻虾等多种共作形式;二是稻田作为湿地用于处理水产养殖尾水的模式,属于异位处理形式;三是将稻渔共生和水产养殖相耦合的模式,尤其是与多种水产养殖形式结合或与复合水产养殖系统相结合,甚至是与农牧系统相结合。这第三种稻渔共作模式又称为陆基生态渔场,具有高产、高品质、高生态可持续性等特点,应加强对该创新养殖模式中有机碳、氮、磷等营养收支平衡和循环利用的相关机制以及复合生态系统对外源营养输入的整体响应机制开展研究。概括而言,尾水排放是传统池塘养殖中氮源的主要流失途径,颗粒物吸附沉降是池塘养殖中磷源的主要流失途径,而系统中的碳源则主要是通过鱼类等生物的呼吸作用进行消耗。基于生态循环的"稻渔共生-池塘复合生态系统"则恰好可以解决这三大类营养物质在生态系统中的高效保持和利用问题,实践业已证明该复合系统拥有较高的产量、品质和生态效益,是一种可持续的农业发展模式。稻渔复合生态系统的创新模式因其特有的生态循环机制及系统的高弹性、高缓冲性、高可持续性,将成为我国乃至世界应对农田、渔业生态系统的退化,复合高效解决渔业、农业或农牧业生态环境问题的典型范式。     

土壤生物与可持续农业研究进展

农业的可持续发展是人类文明持续繁荣的重要保障。从原始农业到工业化农业的发展历程,是"自然力"不断削弱,"人为调控力"不断加强的过程。新兴的可持续农业,则希望将人为调控和自然过程协调融合,建立近自然的高效的现代农业体系。但是,面对土壤生物极高的多样性、生物和非生物过程的复杂互作及其高度的时空异质性,基于还原论的传统科学研究方法探究地下生态系统的"自然过程"困难重重。人为管理措施对农田生态过程调控的针对性和调控效果受到极大限制。尽管如此,土壤生物在生态系统服务中的作用已在世界范围内得到空前重视。如何充分发挥土壤生物在可持续农业中的作用,已成为现代农业研究领域的重要突破口。简述了土壤生物与可持续农业研究的学科发展历史,总结了农业管理措施对土壤生物及土壤食物网特征的影响,突出了土壤生物群落在可持续农业模式中土壤结构改善、土壤肥力提高和化肥农药减施等方面的积极作用;最后探讨了当前的研究难点和未来的研究方向,并对如何充分发挥土壤生物在现代农业中的贡献进行了初步的思考。认为:土壤有机质,土壤结构和土壤食物网以及三者的内在联系是可持续农业研究的关键。土壤有机质管理是调控土壤结构、土壤食物网及生态系统生产力的重要支点,但也是可持续农业模式不确定性的重要来源。基于同位素示踪等整体性分析方法,开展典型农田生态系统土壤食物网特征及其生态功能的系统研究,揭示农业模式、土壤食物网特征及生态系统生产力的关键联系,是充分发挥土壤生物在可持续农业中的积极作用的基础。     

Changes in mangrove forest soils: a comparison between cultured and naturally inundated conditions

A study was carried out in three shrimp farms in a natural mangrove area at the southeastern part of Bangladesh that dealt mainly with the changes in mangrove soil characteristics in both cultured and naturally inundated conditions. Some noticeable changes were observed in case of soil pH, sulfate sulfur(SO₄-S) and extractable aluminium (Al) where, soil pH has shown a negative correlation with the other two parameters. Al concentration reached its minimum 145 days after pond preparation (DAP) proving that flooding for longer periods reduced the possibility of acid and Al toxicity. Extractable sodium (Na) and potassium (K) gradually increased in the cultured ponds while in the inundated ponds, Na concentration remained stable but K increased significantly at the end of the study period. Results of the present study indicate that shrimp farming in an already depleted mangrove forest helps to improve soil quality but still, other management and environmental concerns related to intensive shrimp culture are unavoidable and should be taken into account before promoting such activities in mangrove areas. It is recommended that shrimp culture zone be established beyond the mangrove fringe where possible, to enable mangroves to buffer aquaculture effluent. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Extended Life Cycle Assessment of Southern Pink Shrimp Products Originating in Senegalese Artisanal and Industrial Fisheries for Export to Europe

Southern pink shrimp (Penaeus notialis) are an important Senegalese export commodity. Artisanal fisheries in rivers produce 60%. Forty percent are landed in trawl fisheries at sea. The shrimp from both fisheries result in a frozen, consumer‐packed product that is exported to Europe. We applied attributional life cycle assessment (LCA) to compare the environmental impact of the two supply chains and identify improvement options. In addition to standard LCA impact categories, biological impacts of each fishery were quantified with regard to landed by‐catch, discard, seafloor impact, and size of target catch. Results for typical LCA categories include that artisanal fisheries have much lower inputs and emissions in the fishing phase than does the industrial fishery. For the product from artisanal fisheries, the main part of the impact in the standard LCA categories occurs during processing on land, mainly due to the use of heavy fuel oil and refrigerants with high global warming and ozone depletion potentials. From a biological point of view, each fishery has advantages and drawbacks, and a number of improvement options were identified. If developing countries can ensure biological sustainability of their fisheries and design the chain on land in a resource‐efficient way, long distance to markets is not an obstacle to sustainable trading of seafood products originating in artisanal fisheries.     

Optimizing nutrient management for farm systems

Increasing the inputs of nutrients has played a major role in increasing the supply of food to a continually growing world population. However, focusing attention on the most important nutrients, such as nitrogen (N), has in some cases led to nutrient imbalances, some excess applications especially of N, inefficient use and large losses to the environment with impacts on air and water quality, biodiversity and human health. In contrast, food exports from the developing to the developed world are depleting soils of nutrients in some countries. Better management of all essential nutrients is required that delivers sustainable agriculture and maintains the necessary increases in food production while minimizing waste, economic loss and environmental impacts. More extensive production systems typified by 'organic farming' may prove to be sustainable. However, for most of the developed world, and in the developing world where an ever-growing population demands more food, it will be essential to increase the efficiency of nutrient use in conventional systems. Nutrient management on farms is under the control of the land manger, the most effective of whom will already use various decision supports for calculating rates of application to achieve various production targets. Increasingly, land managers will need to conform to good practice to achieve production targets and to conform to environmental targets as well.