Calculating the carbon footprint of the artisanal common hake fishery (Merluccius gayi gayi) in Caleta Portales, Valparaíso, Chile

Abstract

Society's awareness of environmental issues increases every day. In this context, the concept of carbon footprint (CF) arises as a calculation tool that quantifies greenhouse gasses (GHG) emitted during the life cycle (LC) of a product. This calculation method is used in many productive sectors throughout the world; however, the Chilean fisheries sector has not notified the use of this tool or initiatives in that sense. This study performs a calculation of the CF of artisanal gillnet hake (Merluccius gayi gayi) fishery of the Caleta Portales, located in Valparaíso, Chile. The ISO 14040: 2006 methodology was used. The analysis was limited from the boat departure until the catch is landed, as a gate-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA). The fuel consumption data and information related to the fleet were used as the main source of information. The Caleta Portales hake landings were 1,340.484 kg in 2011 and 703,411 kg in 2012. This fleet released into the atmosphere in 2011, 0.47 CO2 equivalent per kg of hake landed, and 0.58 kg CO2 eq, in 2012. It is the first result of CF reported in a Chilean fishery. This result can lead to an increase in the competitiveness of this hake fishery, as it can generate a positive impact on encouraging consumers to prefer the consumption from those places that have calculated the CF and are less than other food products.