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The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment
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13-11-2017 | CHALLENGES AND BEST PRACTICE IN LCAS OF SEAFOOD AND OTHER AQUATIC PRODUCTS

The importance of using life cycle assessment in policy support to determine the sustainability of fishing fleets: a case study for the small-scale xeito fishery in Galicia, Spain

Authors: Pedro Villanueva-Rey, Ian Vázquez-Rowe, Andrea Arias, Maria Teresa Moreira, Gumersindo Feijoo

Published in: The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment | Issue 5/2018

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Abstract

Purpose

Drift net fishing activities have undergone a thorough revision at a European Union level, since authorities argue that several loopholes still exist in the legislation that allow small-scale fisheries to use these gears. High incidental catches, or the lack of selectivity, are some of the primary scientific criteria behind this discussion. This new framework is of particular interest in the region of Galicia (NW Spain) due to the social importance of small-scale fishing vessels using drift nets. In fact, over 400 vessels have a licence to capture European pilchard (Sardina pilchardus) with a fishing gear called xeito, which is a small-scale drift net.

Methods

The main goal of this article is to provide stakeholders in the fishing sector with environmentally relevant results regarding the life cycle impacts linked to fishing practices performed by small-scale vessels using the xeito gear to target European pilchard. We hypothesize that environmental impacts computed with LCA will provide additional insights to the sustainability of the pilchard small-scale fishery in NW Spain, adding a series of criteria that may be useful for policy-makers to determine the consequences of forbidding this type of drift netting in the future.

Results and discussion

Results show that environmental impacts across impact categories and operational activities do not differ much from that of other similar fishing fleets examined in recent years, with fuel for propulsion being the main environmental burden in most impact categories. When conducting a statistical analysis, no significant difference in energy use was identified between this small-scale fleet and purse seiners targeting pilchard in Galicia. Moreover, the results obtained demonstrate, in line with previous studies, that European pilchard is still an energy-efficient source of animal protein option as compared to demersal fish alternatives, crustaceans, or livestock.

Conclusions

The results do not indicate that European pilchard landed with small-scale drift nets generates higher environmental life cycle impacts than pilchard landed by purse seiners in NW Spain. However, longer time frames for the analysis should be performed to attain results with lower uncertainty.
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next article Life cycle assessment of European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) landed by purse seine vessels in northern Spain

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Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Footnotes
1
Energy allocation was excluded from the assessment due to the very similar energy and protein content of European pilchard and European anchovy, the two species that represented more than 98% of total landings of the fleet.
 
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Metadata
Title
The importance of using life cycle assessment in policy support to determine the sustainability of fishing fleets: a case study for the small-scale xeito fishery in Galicia, Spain
Authors
Pedro Villanueva-Rey
Ian Vázquez-Rowe
Andrea Arias
Maria Teresa Moreira
Gumersindo Feijoo
Publication date
13-11-2017
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment / Issue 5/2018
Print ISSN: 0948-3349
Electronic ISSN: 1614-7502
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-017-1402-z

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