Finding keys to sustainable fisheries-Life Cycle Assesment and fisheries management

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Fisheries managers try to predict the biological effects of management measures in order to impede the unsustainable exploitation rate of global fish stocks. Nevertheless, the wider environmental implications of management decisions remain largely unknown. In part, this is because the tools for studying impacts on a broader level, such as life cycle assessment (LCA), are relatively new. LCA is an ISO standardized methodology to study the resource use and environmental impact of products and processes from cradle to grave. Earlier LCAs on seafood production have shown that the fishing phase dominates the environmental impact. Great differences can be seen from gear type and stock status; both factors strongly correlated to management. Trawling has considerably higher fuel consumption than gillnetting. Creeling, compared with conventional trawling, shows the same results—with the addition of much higher seabed impacts and discards. Different fishery managements, all aiming at decreasing fishing pressure, could contribute differently to climate change and other environmental issues. Two PhD projects will develop the LCA methodology and explore the potentials as a tool to evaluate the environmental performance of different measures in the Swedish fisheries. The case studies will aim to illustrate the environmental impacts of fishery management. The focus is on the biological impacts of selectivity measures (i.e. target stock selectivity and bycatch extraction) and effects from no-take zones. Close collaboration with stakeholders in Sweden and Norway will facilitate the project and ensure its results are applicable after completion of the study.