Ecological Footprint of Different Culture Modes of Penaeus vannamei in Northern China

Abstract

The rapid development of shrimp aquaculture has resulted in numerous ecological problems, thereby necessitating the assessment of its sustainable ecological development. This study employed the ecological footprint method to conduct a quantitative analysis of the environmental ramifications of two culture modes (pond and factory) of Penaeus vannamei. The analysis includes a horizontal comparison between two different modes and a vertical comparison among different aquaculture links of the same mode, with the objective of identifying the weak link in the aquaculture process. The results show that the ecological footprint per unit of profit of the factory culture mode was lower than that of the pond mode, while the ecological footprint per unit of output was higher in the former. Water resource consumption was identified as the primary component of the ecological footprint in both modes, accounting for over 70% of the total, followed by feed consumption. The higher energy consumption in the factory culture mode is ascribed to the operation of mass-production facilities. The feed conversion ratio in shrimp aquaculture requires improvement, as evidenced by a ratio of 1.05 in the pond mode and a higher ratio of 1.82 in the factory culture mode, indicating suboptimal feed utilization efficiency. In light of these conclusions, various measures and suggestions are put forth, including improving shrimp feed composition, implementing energy-saving measures, weighing production planning across different culture modes, and optimizing water resource utilization.