Comparison of Asian Aquaculture Products by Use of Statistically Supported Life Cycle Assessment

We investigated aquaculture production of Asian tiger shrimp, whiteleg shrimp, giant river prawn, tilapia, and pangasius catfish in Bangladesh, China, Thailand, and Vietnam by using life cycle assessments (LCAs), with the purpose of evaluating the comparative eco-efficiency of producing different aquatic food products. Our starting hypothesis was that different production systems are associated with significantly different environmental impacts, as the production of these aquatic species differs in intensity and management practices. In order to test this hypothesis, we estimated each system's global warming, eutrophication, and freshwater ecotoxicity impacts. The contribution to these impacts and the overall dispersions relative to results were propagated by Monte Carlo simulations and dependent sampling. Paired testing showed significant (p < 0.05) differences between the median impacts of most production systems in the intraspecies comparisons, even after a Bonferroni correction. For the full distributions instead of only the median, only for Asian tiger shrimp did more than 95% of the propagated Monte Carlo results favor certain farming systems. The major environmental hot-spots driving the differences in environmental performance among systems were fishmeal from mixed fisheries for global warming, pond runoff and sediment discards for eutrophication, and agricultural pesticides, metals, benzalkonium chloride, and other chlorine-releasing compounds for freshwater ecotoxicity. The Asian aquaculture industry should therefore strive toward farming systems relying upon pelleted species-specific feeds, where the fishmeal inclusion is limited and sourced sustainably. Also, excessive nutrients should be recycled in integrated organic agriculture together with efficient aeration solutions powered by renewable energy sources. © 2015 American Chemical Society.Additional coauthors: M. Mahfujul Haque Froukje Kruijssen, Geert R. de Snoo, Reinout Heijungs, Peter M. van Bodegom, and Jeroen B. Guiné

Global, regional, and national age-sex-specific mortality for 282 causes of death in 195 countries and territories, 1980-2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017.

BACKGROUND: Global development goals increasingly rely on country-specific estimates for benchmarking a nation's progress. To meet this need, the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2016 estimated global, regional, national, and, for selected locations, subnational cause-specific mortality beginning in the year 1980. Here we report an update to that study, making use of newly available data and improved methods. GBD 2017 provides a comprehensive assessment of cause-specific mortality for 282 causes in 195 countries and territories from 1980 to 2017. METHODS: The causes of death database is composed of vital registration (VR), verbal autopsy (VA), registry, survey, police, and surveillance data. GBD 2017 added ten VA studies, 127 country-years of VR data, 502 cancer-registry country-years, and an additional surveillance country-year. Expansions of the GBD cause of death hierarchy resulted in 18 additional causes estimated for GBD 2017. Newly available data led to subnational estimates for five additional countries-Ethiopia, Iran, New Zealand, Norway, and Russia. Deaths assigned International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes for non-specific, implausible, or intermediate causes of death were reassigned to underlying causes by redistribution algorithms that were incorporated into uncertainty estimation. We used statistical modelling tools developed for GBD, including the Cause of Death Ensemble model (CODEm), to generate cause fractions and cause-specific death rates for each location, year, age, and sex. Instead of using UN estimates as in previous versions, GBD 2017 independently estimated population size and fertility rate for all locations. Years of life lost (YLLs) were then calculated as the sum of each death multiplied by the standard life expectancy at each age. All rates reported here are age-standardised

A Review of Suckermouth Armoured Catfish (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) Invasion, Impacts and Management: Is Its Invasion a Threat to Bangladesh’s Fisheries Sector?

Suckermouth armoured catfish of the genus Pterygoplichthys (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) are significant threats to aquatic biodiversity, ecosystems, habitats, and fishery production in different countries. Their unique characteristics and adaptive features help their successful invasion. These fish harm fish habitats, compete for food and space, prey on fish eggs, and displace the native fish populations. They erode river banks, alter benthic ecology, make holes in the river bank, and remove aquatic plants. Elimination, control, and intrusion prevention are possible management strategies. Utilising them as food and preparing value-added products and byproducts using them are viable ways to reduce their number. Management is challenging, owing to their tolerance and excellent adaptability. With severe dangers to Bangladesh's fisheries industry and aquatic environment, suckermouth armoured catfish have invaded natural waterbodies and aquaculture ponds. There is a lack of accurate information on invasion status, types of invading species, and potential dangers of invasion to create a management framework in Bangladesh. Therefore, this review introduces the key characteristics, habitats, invasion impacts, and management and utilisation aspects of suckermouth armoured catfish in different countries. The review may help in understanding how they affect native fish, aquatic organisms, habitats, and the aquatic environment globally. Finally, what kind of threats they may pose and how they can be managed sustainably in Bangladesh

Acidification scenario of Cox’s Bazar coast of the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh and its influence on fish larvae abundance

Ocean acidification is caused mainly by atmospheric carbon dioxide stored in the ocean. Ocean acidification is considered a major threat to aquatic life, and how it influences the abundance of marine fish larvae is still unclear. This research was designed to measure the current ocean acidification scenario of the Cox's Bazar coast of the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh, and its probable influence on the abundance of fish larvae. Three research stations were selected: Bakkhali river estuary, Naf river estuary, and Rezu Khal. Monthly sampling was done, and larvae sample was collected from the surface water column (depth: 0.5 m) using a bongo net. Water parameters such as temperature, salinity, total alkalinity, and pH were determined using laboratory protocol. The seacarb package of the R programming language was used to determine ocean acidification factors. The Bakkhali river estuary showed the highest partial carbon dioxide (143.99 ± 102.27 μatm) and the lowest pH (8.27 ± 0.21). A total of 19 larvae families were identified, and the highest larval count was found in Rezu Khal (390 larvae/1000 m3), while the lowest was found in the Bakkhali river (3 larvae/1000 m3). Clupeidae, Myctophidae, and Engraulidae comprised more than 50% of the identified larvae. Blenniidae, Carangidae, Clupeidae, Engraulidae, and Gobiidae were found in all three seasons. Most of the larvae families showed the highest mean abundance under less pCO2. A negative correlation was observed between larvae and acidification factors such as pCO2, HCO3−, and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). The study revealed that acidification parameters of the Cox's Bazar coast were not in an acute state for the aquatic organisms' survival, but fish larvae abundance could be declined with raises in the partial carbon dioxide. The results of this study may aid in developing a management plan for conserving Bangladesh's marine and coastal fish

Comparison of Asian Aquaculture Products by Use of Statistically Supported Life Cycle Assessment

We investigated aquaculture production of Asian tiger shrimp, whiteleg shrimp, giant river prawn, tilapia, and pangasius catfish in Bangladesh, China, Thailand, and Vietnam by using life cycle assessments (LCAs), with the purpose of evaluating the comparative eco-efficiency of producing different aquatic food products. Our starting hypothesis was that different production systems are associated with significantly different environmental impacts, as the production of these aquatic species differs in intensity and management practices. In order to test this hypothesis, we estimated each system’s global warming, eutrophication, and freshwater ecotoxicity impacts. The contribution to these impacts and the overall dispersions relative to results were propagated by Monte Carlo simulations and dependent sampling. Paired testing showed significant (<i>p</i> < 0.05) differences between the median impacts of most production systems in the intraspecies comparisons, even after a Bonferroni correction. For the full distributions instead of only the median, only for Asian tiger shrimp did more than 95% of the propagated Monte Carlo results favor certain farming systems. The major environmental hot-spots driving the differences in environmental performance among systems were fishmeal from mixed fisheries for global warming, pond runoff and sediment discards for eutrophication, and agricultural pesticides, metals, benzalkonium chloride, and other chlorine-releasing compounds for freshwater ecotoxicity. The Asian aquaculture industry should therefore strive toward farming systems relying upon pelleted species-specific feeds, where the fishmeal inclusion is limited and sourced sustainably. Also, excessive nutrients should be recycled in integrated organic agriculture together with efficient aeration solutions powered by renewable energy sources