published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

Talhado Fishing Enterprises (Pty) Ltd is a squid fishing company founded in 1988, with sea and land based freezing facilities. Operating from the East coast situated in the Port Elizabeth harbour, the company processes and packages its caught and bought out product for sales to its export customers situated in Spain and Italy. The company is privately owned, 38.8 percent owned by previously disadvantaged persons. This study examines the whether it would be feasible to expand its operations into the USA, namely into the California area where a squid fishery exists. The study further centres around the company’s existing markets, namely Spain and Italy, to establish whether demand exists to purchase this Californian squid specie. The reason for the study is that due to legislative and political issues growth in the squid industry in South Africa is limited. It is therefore considered pertinent to source further supply of product in order to expand its business. The aim of the study is establish whether it is feasible to expand the company’s operations internationally and does the outcome of this initial study warrant the development of an in depth business plan. In order to achieve these objectives the following approach was followed: A comprehensive literature study was conducted with regard to the industry internationally and locally; Interviews was conducted with independent experts such as attorneys and industry role players situated in California; Potential sellers of businesses were sourced in the California and interviews were arranged with these role players; The response to the interviews was measured against the literature study conducted and financial statements supplied.

This thesis is intended to improve the understanding of China’s evolving export-oriented farmed seafood systems, and in particularly, shrimp and tilapia farming value chains in Southern China. An integrated, systems thinking and interdisciplinary approach in which both top–down and bottom–up approaches were combined. The research moved from system reviews, to field surveys and workshops, and then to improving sustainability by Action Research (AR), in order to form a holistic understanding of sustainability at both national and local scales. In the new millennium, the aquaculture sector has matured, and many factors now slow the growth rate of Chinese aquaculture production, such as increasing culture of high-value species and an emerging trend of extensification. There are been some strategy shifts in the aquaculture industry such as changing from a high production to high profit orientation and from causing environmental damage to ecological remediation. A key conclusion is that high growth rates, regularly used in policy dialogues, are misleading indicators and do not reflect, realistic or sustainable, growth profiles. Although overall Chinese aquaculture production is likely to further increase to meet an increasing and changing market demand, growth rates will decrease further. China already is and will continue to be a fisheries products net importer, however, if fishmeal excluded China will remain as a seafood net exporter. The status and development of four internationally-traded farmed seafood, tilapia, penaeid shrimp, macrobrachium prawns and striped catfish in China were reviewed. China is the largest producer of tilapia, penaeid shrimp and macrobrachium prawns, and striped catfish is not produced in significant quantities due to climate limitations. Meanwhile, China is the largest exporter of tilapia, the second largest exporter in the volume and third in value of shrimp in the world, while macrobrachium prawns mainly support domestic markets. Tilapia and penaeid shrimp were selected for further research. An analysis of tilapia and shrimp farm scale indicators and their relationship to farming system and market orientation, farm intensification and performance was made. Farm area, both land and water area, labour, including paid and unpaid were effective indicators to distinguish farm scale. Small-scale farms had higher land productivity in production terms but no difference in value output term, and they had much lower labour productivity than medium and large-scale farms. Farming systems were also correlated with land and labour productivities. Market orientation was closely linked to farm scale as most farms with an export orientation required registration with CIQ (China Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine) and were mainly large-scale. An assessment of local stakeholder sustainability perspectives along value chains revealed that more than 80% shrimp and tilapia farmers didn’t want their children to continue basing their living on aquaculture; because they considered it hard work, high risk and poorly remunerated. Farming was comparative stable with few changes in the five years prior to the survey. Major sustainability factors identified by stakeholders included input costs, profit, water availability & quality and the weather, most of which were outside their control. The measurement of these sustainability factors was firstly proposed by stakeholders and then developed to a set of sustainability indicators (SIs). Life cycle assessment (LCA) was used as evaluate the environmental performance of tilapia, pig and integrated tilapia-pig farming systems in China. Pig farming had higher environment impacts based on most impact categories than tilapia, and integrated farming systems. Sensitivity analysis showed that improvements of 5% and 10% higher feed efficiency, reduction of fishmeal in feed to 1% level and use of EU electricity could significant reduce overall environmental impacts. An action research (AR) approach was used to assess the practice of farm record keeping with farmers which were found to be generally low and a major constraint to improving product traceability increasingly demanded by consumers. Large scale and CIQ farms were more likely to keep records and for them to be detailed and analysed to inform improved management. Farmers’ motivation, ability and capability and background had significant correlation with record keeping practice. Two major dilemmas were identified by the analysis. Easy-to-use farm record-keeping system more suitable for less formally educated farmers was a clear requirement but useful storage and analysis of farm data capacity requires sophisticated management tools such as a computer system. Another dilemma is the need for coercion by regulatory authorities or encouragement through provision of education and training in increasing on-farm record-keeping to a level required for international trade and, increasingly, domestic markets. “Precision aquaculture”, value chain integrated solution, and further social-economic reforms were discussed. Finally, sustainable intensification, diversification, and extensification were proposed as strategies for China to meet the challenges of globalization and the growing demands of export and domestic value chains. In order to enhance sustainability of the sector and provide opportunities for small-scale farmers, the current status and changes of the Chinese social, economic context, food safety and environments issues were discussed. Farmers’ organizations, future consolidation, and land reforms were identified as key to the required changes of farmed seafood value chains.

Background: The current unsustainable situation of the seafood industry requires innovative solutions and there is an opportunity for companies to provide consumers with plant-based options which would enable them to eat seafood without harming the oceans. However, there are still several barriers keeping consumers from choosing plant-based products, such as limited knowledge, social norms, and cultural settings. Previous studies regarding how a cultural context and storytelling might be used to influence people towards more plant-based eating, especially relating to plant-based seafood are limited. Therefore, it is interesting to examine how companies offering plant-based foods can use culture and certain narratives held by consumers in their branding to integrate them into the Swedish culture and influence consumers towards a more sustainable consumption.   Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate what narratives influence consumers, and how companies offering plant-based food can use these narratives to drive a change towards more sustainable consumption among people in Sweden.   Method: Using a semi-structured approach, two focus groups were conducted and two different companies offering plant-based food were interviewed. Furthermore, this qualitative research uses an inductive approach, and the gathered data was later analyzed under a thematic analysis which was the foundation for the conceptual framework.   Conclusion: The myths and narrative towards plant-based substitutes are a noteworthy barrier to adoption, and cultural branding seems to be a favorable strategy for brands offering plant-based food. The findings suggest that culture and childhood experiences have a substantial influence on consumer demand for different types of foods, and that a change in dietary patterns requires a change in the surrounding cultural norms. Brands offering plant-based products need to understand the cultural norms of their target customers and leverage cultural contradictions to offer products that align with personal values.

published_or_final_version / Biological Sciences / Master / Master of Philosophy

Submitted by Sandra Pereira (srpereira@ufrrj.br) on 2017-05-30T12:42:52Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2012 - Maristela Soares Louren?o.pdf: 4369198 bytes, checksum: 2ec3a82b696b5d2a8be25a4f931cf3b1 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-30T12:42:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2012 - Maristela Soares Louren?o.pdf: 4369198 bytes, checksum: 2ec3a82b696b5d2a8be25a4f931cf3b1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-09-03 / The food production chain, from primary production, such as aquaculture, to the preparation and consumption of food depends on the use of natural resources and involves some form of environmental impacts. The methodology of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), this perspective can be a tool, in that it provides a critical analysis of industry activities and environmental aspects associated. The LCA stands out both as a technique and a ?model of thinking? to integrating information about fluxes of energy and matter and evaluated the impacts along the supply chain, since the extraction of raw materials of nature to the final disposal of products or processes of interest, process that demands intense interdisciplinary in the representations of the phenomena studied in multiple dimensions of analysis. The aim of this study was to analyze the fishery production chain in a broader sense, in other words, the production process of Aquaculture and Seafood Industries Portuguese, as well as the production process of fish meals in the Food Service Segment in Brazil and Portugal, addressing water use and effluent generation through the LCA. The methodology was qualitative, quantitative, descriptive and exploratory in the segments studied in Brazil and Portugal. Analyzes carried out physical-chemical and microbiological for identification of water quality and type of effluents generated in the processes studied. The results show that in all processes, water management is not integral part of environmental management, only in the Food Service Segment in Brazil presents control water by hydrometers and one of the Seafood Industry in Portugal is carried out effluent treatment. The measurement of the water quantity in the steps of Aquaculture, Seafood Industry and Food Service Segment contemplates water footprint in the process, with the measurement, it is necessary to reflect on the procedures adopted and control of water consumption, as also the generation of effluents originating from the process. With regard to analysis, the effluents generated in some steps of the processes showed high levels of organic matter and total solids, and appreciable levels of fecal coliform, total coliform as well as heterotrophic bacteria were found. It is concluded that this analysis points to the need to introduce strategies in order to monitor and manage the use of water in the segments studied and to base more extensive reflections on the consumption of water resources and potential environmental impacts from the perspective of the life cycle of the product. / A cadeia produtiva dos alimentos, desde a produ??o prim?ria, como a aq?icultura, at? a prepara??o e consumo do alimento depende da utiliza??o de recursos naturais e implica de alguma forma em impactos ambientais. A metodologia de Avalia??o do Ciclo de Vida (ACV), nesta perspectiva, pode ser uma ferramenta, na medida em que, proporciona uma an?lise cr?tica das atividades das ind?strias e dos aspectos ambientais associados. A ACV se apresenta como t?cnica e, ao mesmo tempo, ?modelo de pensamento? relevante para integrar informa??es sobre os fluxos f?sicos de mat?ria e avaliar os impactos ao longo das cadeias de suprimento, desde a extra??o da mat?ria-prima da natureza at? a disposi??o final dos produtos ou processos de interesse; processo que demanda intensa interdisciplinaridade nas representa??es dos fen?menos estudados, em m?ltiplas dimens?es de an?lise. O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar a cadeia produtiva da pesca em um sentido mais amplo, ou seja, o processo de produ??o da Aq?icultura e Ind?strias de Pescados portuguesas, bem como o processo produtivo de refei??es com pescado do Segmento de Alimenta??o Coletiva no Brasil e em Portugal, abordando o uso da ?gua e a gera??o de efluentes atrav?s da ACV. A metodologia adotada teve car?ter qualitativo, quantitativo, descritivo e explorat?rio nos segmentos estudados no Brasil e em Portugal. Foram realizadas an?lises f?sico-qu?micas e microbiol?gicas para identifica??o da qualidade da ?gua e o tipo de efluentes gerados nos processos estudados. Os resultados apontam que em todos os processos, a gest?o da ?gua n?o ? parte integrante da gest?o ambiental, apenas no Segmento de Alimenta??o Coletiva do Brasil apresenta controle de ?gua por hidr?metros e em uma das Ind?strias de Pescados em Portugal ? realizado o tratamento de efluentes. A mensura??o da quantidade de ?gua nas etapas da aq?icultura, da Ind?stria de Pescados e do Segmento de Alimenta??o Coletiva contempla a pegada h?drica nos processos, com esta aferi??o, torna-se necess?ria a reflex?o sobre os procedimentos adotados e o controle de consumo de ?gua, como tamb?m a gera??o de efluentes advindos dos processos. Com rela??o ?s an?lises, os efluentes gerados em algumas etapas dos processos apresentaram elevados teores de mat?ria org?nica e s?lidos totais, bem como n?veis apreci?veis de coliformes termotolerantes, coliformes totais e bact?rias heterotr?ficas. Conclui-se que este diagn?stico aponta para a necessidade de introduzir estrat?gias com objetivo de monitorar e racionalizar o uso da ?gua nos Segmentos estudados e embasar reflex?es mais amplas sobre o consumo dos recursos h?dricos e os potenciais impactos ambientais sob a perspectiva do ciclo de vida do produto.

Sustainable development of export-orientated farmed seafood in Thailand is a major issue which can impact local stakeholders as well as global food security. The major species taken into consideration in this research were initially the Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei), Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii), and striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus). After which more focus was placed on Pacific white shrimp, which is Thailand’s major cultured seafood being traded for export, and tilapia, which has potential for export but also enjoying a good domestic market demand. Actors or stakeholders directly and indirectly involved in aquaculture value chains may have their own perceptions about sustainability affecting their operations, as various factors within and outside their own systems could affect these perceptions. This could lead to different efforts in responding to these factors to make their operations sustainable. Three major areas were covered in this study, namely a) describing the strengths and weaknesses of shrimp and tilapia production in Thailand in relation to their export potential, b) evaluating the status of compliance to global aquaculture standards of shrimp and tilapia farming (covering technical and labour aspects), and c) determining perceptions of sustainability across the shrimp and tilapia value chains in Thailand, with a focus on the production sector. A mixed-methods approach was employed to obtain information in the study sites in Thailand. Basic field interviews were conducted among 206 shrimp producers in 6 provinces in the east and south, and 199 tilapia producers in 4 provinces in the west and east, in terms of farm operations and perceptions of factors which will affect the sustainability of their operations, including generational aspects on future shrimp and tilapia farming. Key informant interviews were also conducted among other value chain actors (>30) such as hatchery/nursery operators, input/service providers, processors/exporters and technical/ institutional members to determine whether there are differences in their sustainability perceptions. In addition, face to face interviews with 18 shrimp farm male and female workers were conducted (Thai and migrant workers), as well as with 14 key informants involved in shrimp farm labour issues in Thailand, specifically for well-being and working conditions. Stakeholders cited environmental (technical), economic, social and institutional (equity) aspects of their operations as factors which will affect the sustainability of their operations. Disease, product price and water quality were the three most important sustainability factors among shrimp farmers, whereas water quality, disease and extreme weather conditions were for tilapia farmers. Product price was the most cited by input service providers, hatchery operators, shrimp and tilapia producers, and processors. Both Thai and migrant shrimp farm workers perceived a better or much better-off quality of life working in shrimp farms in Thailand than in their previous occupations or status. Almost all shrimp farms meet more than what are required under the Thai labour law or the global aquaculture standards for human resources. With the importance of migrant labour in Thailand, much still needs to be done in terms of assessing the impact of their working in Thailand on their families left behind in their own countries, as well as on their communities, including status of social protection to avoid exploitation. Each stakeholder group strives to achieve sustainability so they can remain in operation in the next few years, to survive on the business individually and corporately, and to be the best provider of sustainably and ethically produced seafood for the world. The compliance to aquaculture global standards and certifications may be considered to contribute to the sustainability of operations by improving farm practices thereby reducing detrimental impacts on farm and external environments, as well as strengthening human relations with in the farm and in the community. However there are some aspects of these standards which could eliminate the small players. In this study, the large scale farms were more likely to comply with all the standards, followed by medium scale, and lastly the small scale farms. The differences in perceptions which exist among these stakeholders should be understood by every sector and efforts should be made to address them so that there is cohesiveness in giving support to achieve sustainable seafood production and trade.