An Assessment of the Environmental Performance of Seafood and the Implications for Food Systems Anna Kirby Farmery (BSc Hons) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Tasmania, Australia May 2016 “The health of humans cannot be isolated from the health of ecosystems” FAO 2012 - Sustainable diets and biodiversity i DECLARATIONS Statement of originality This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for a degree or diploma by the University or any other institution, except by way of background information and duly acknowledged in the thesis, and to the best of my knowledge and belief no material previously published or written by another person except where due acknowledgement is made in the text of the thesis, nor does the thesis contain any material that infringes copyright. Signed: Date: 31 May 2016 Statement of authority of access This thesis may be made available for loan and limited copying and communication in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. Statement regarding published work contained in thesis The publishers of the papers comprising Chapters 2, 3 and 4 hold the copyright for that content, and access to the material should be sought from the respective journals. The remaining non-published content of the thesis may be made available for loan and limited copying and communication in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. ii Statement of Ethical Conduct The research associated with this thesis abides by the international and Australian codes on human and animal experimentation, the guidelines by the Australian Government’s Office of the Gene Technology Regulator and the rulings of the safety, Ethics and Institutional Biosafety Committees of the University. Ethics approval was obtained from the Tasmanian Ethics Committee and granted as minimal risk (reference H12188). Statement of co-authorship The following people and institutions contributed to the publication of work undertaken as part of this thesis: Mrs Anna Farmery, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania (UTAS) = Candidate Dr Bridget Green, IMAS, UTAS = Author 1 Prof Caleb Gardner, IMAS, UTAS = Author 2 Dr Sarah Jennings, Tasmanian School of Business and Economics = Author 3 Prof Reg Watson, IMAS, UTAS = Author 4 Author details and their roles: Chapter 2: Life cycle assessment of wild capture prawns: expanding sustainability considerations in the Australian Northern Prawn Fishery Published as: Life cycle assessment of wild capture prawns: expanding sustainability considerations in the Australian Northern Prawn Fishery Candidate was the primary author Authors 1, 2, 3 and 4 assisted with manuscript preparation and refinement Chapter 3: Linking life cycle assessment and the management of marine resources Published as: Managing fisheries for environmental performance: the effects of marine resource decision-making on the footprint of seafood Candidate was the primary author with author 2 contributing to the idea, its formalisation and development Authors 1, 2 and 3 assisted with manuscript preparation and refinement iii Chapter 4: Domestic or imported? An assessment of carbon footprints and sustainability of seafood consumed in Australia Published as: Domestic or imported? An assessment of carbon footprints and sustainability of seafood consumed in Australia Candidate was the primary author Authors 2 and 4 provided general statistical advice Authors 1, 2, 3 and 4 assisted with manuscript preparation and refinement Chapter 5: Naturalness as a basis for incorporating marine biodiversity into life cycle assessment of seafood Candidate was the primary author Authors 1, 2, 3 and 4 assisted with chapter preparation and refinement Authors 2 and 3 participated in the Expert Working group Chapter 6: Assessing the inclusion of seafood in current sustainable diet literature Candidate was the primary author Authors 1, 2, 3 and 4 assisted with chapter preparation and refinement We the undersigned agree with the above stated “proportion of work undertaken” for each of the above published (or submitted) peer reviewed manuscripts contributing to this thesis: Signed: Dr Bridget Green Prof Chris Carter Primary Supervisor Director IMAS –FA IMAS –FA University of Tasmania University of Tasmania Date: 27/10/2016 26th October 2016 iv ABSTRACT Food security is underpinned by the sustainability of the global food system. The production and supply of food is responsible for global environmental impacts and a transition to a sustainable food system is required. Seafood plays a key role in the food system, as a vital source of protein and essential nutrients, yet fisheries and aquaculture are often left out of discussions on food and nutrition security. The broader impacts of seafood as part of the food system are rarely considered through current sustainability assessments. The result is that the environmental impacts generated from the supply and consumption of seafood products are not well understood. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a practical and credible tool for assessing the environmental footprints of food products and production methods. LCAs of seafood have increased substantially over the past decade, encompassing a range of species, production methods, and geographic locations. Nevertheless, the field lags behind LCA of terrestrial systems in terms of both empirical coverage and methods. This thesis expands the literature on seafood LCAs, using Australian seafood case studies. The aim is to improve the understanding of the environmental impacts of seafood production and consumption as a part of the broader food system, and to identify opportunities to advance seafood sustainability concepts and practice. The thesis consists of five papers which are linked through the LCA framework, and have a strong emphasis on seafood as part of a sustainable food system, and on the nexus between LCA and contemporary fisheries management principles and practices. In the first paper LCA is used to measure the environmental performance of the white banana prawn (Fenneropenaeus merguiensis) from the Australian Northern Prawn Fishery across its supply chain. Management of this fishery has been promoted as a sustainable model for other countries to emulate, although broader environmental impacts, such as those relating to energy and water use or greenhouse gas emissions are not currently monitored. Fishing operations were the main source of impacts, while processing and storage were key contributors to ecotoxicity, and transport made a negligible contribution to any impact category. This research highlighted the scope to develop the application of LCA in wild capture fisheries in terms of complementing existing fisheries management, and through the development of fishery-specific indicators to improve the efficacy of seafood LCAs. There is a need for information to better understand the relationship between seafood LCAs and fisheries management. In the second paper LCA was used to measure the environmental footprint of the supply of Tasmanian southern rock lobster, Jasus edwardsii (TSRL) under different management v scenarios. The environmental footprint of the TSRL in the scenarios modelled was responsive to marine resource management decisions made inside and outside the fishery. Targeting maximum economic yield rather than maximum sustainable yield decreased the carbon footprint by 80%. Limiting access to the fishery by increasing the coverage of marine protected areas increased the fishery’s carbon footprint by 23%. Better understanding of the environmental impacts resulting from management changes will be vital in a future of increased carbon emission reporting and regulation. The application of LCA to marine resource decision-making can help ensure decisions are not made in isolation of broader environmental impacts. The lobster LCA also highlighted that the international airfreight of live lobsters was the major contributor to global warming potential (GWP) and cumulative energy demand (CED). The distance between where food is produced and consumed is increasing, and is often taken as evidence of an unsustainable global food system. Seafood is a highly traded commodity and in the third paper LCA was used to examine the impacts of the movement of products beyond the fishery or farm to better understand the environmental impact of seafood as part of the broader food system. The carbon footprints of the production and distribution of select seafood products that are consumed in Australia were compared to determine differences in the sustainability of imports and their domestically produced counterparts. The distance food is transported was not found to be the main determinant of carbon emissions. Despite the increased distance between production and consumption, carbon footprints of meals from imported seafood can be similar to meals consisting of domestically produced seafood, and sometimes lower, depending on the seafood consumed. In combining LCA with existing seafood sustainability criteria the trade-offs between sustainability targets become more apparent. While the addition of carbon footprinting to current seafood sustainability assessments broadens their perspective, the carbon footprint should not be taken as a complete measure of product sustainability in LCA. A combination of relevant LCA indicators can provide a more holistic assessment of overall seafood sustainability. However, while LCA is a well-developed and useful tool for assessing carbon emissions and other biophysical