WILD-caught seafood is usually an environmentally friendly thing to eat. But a few species have greenhouse-gas footprints as large as that of beef.
Because those high-footprint species are growing in popularity, greenhouse gas emissions from the world鈥檚 fisheries have risen sharply over the past two decades. The extra effort needed to catch depleted species is also contributing to the rise.
at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, and his colleagues pulled together country-by-country data for fisheries catches. They combined this with best estimates of fuel use for each class of fishery. Because fuel accounts for the vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions from fishing, they could calculate the total carbon footprint for each fishery.
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Globally, they found that carbon emissions from fisheries rose by 28 per cent between 1991 and 2011, even though total catch has barely changed. That contrasts with other foods, where improved efficiency has led to lower emissions per kilogram of product.
Distinctly fishy
One reason is that people are eating more shrimp and lobster, both of which emit a lot per kilogram, comparable to .
Most other fish are good choices for a climate-friendly diet. 鈥淭he typical fish product is going to have a similar footprint to chicken, which is the most efficient land-based animal source,鈥� says Parker. Some small fish such as anchovies do even better. The team is now developing a website where people can look up the greenhouse gas footprints of different seafood.
The best way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from seafood is to manage fisheries well. This will allow fish populations to rebuild to higher levels. 鈥淭he more abundant your fish are, the easier it is to catch them,鈥� says at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Nature Climate Change
