1 research outputs found
A Quantitative Metric to Identify Critical Elements within Seafood Supply Networks
A theoretical basis is required for comparing key features and critical elements in wild fisheries and aquaculture
supply chains under a changing climate. Here we develop a new quantitative metric that is analogous to indices used to
analyse food-webs and identify key species. The Supply Chain Index (SCI) identifies critical elements as those elements with
large throughput rates, as well as greater connectivity. The sum of the scores for a supply chain provides a single metric that
roughly captures both the resilience and connectedness of a supply chain. Standardised scores can facilitate crosscomparisons
both under current conditions as well as under a changing climate. Identification of key elements along the
supply chain may assist in informing adaptation strategies to reduce anticipated future risks posed by climate change. The
SCI also provides information on the relative stability of different supply chains based on whether there is a fairly even
spread in the individual scores of the top few key elements, compared with a more critical dependence on a few key
individual supply chain elements. We use as a case study the Australian southern rock lobster Jasus edwardsii fishery, which
is challenged by a number of climate change drivers such as impacts on recruitment and growth due to changes in largescale
and local oceanographic features. The SCI identifies airports, processors and Chinese consumers as the key elements in
the lobster supply chain that merit attention to enhance stability and potentially enable growth. We also apply the index to
an additional four real-world Australian commercial fishery and two aquaculture industry supply chains to highlight the
utility of a systematic method for describing supply chains. Overall, our simple methodological approach to empiricallybased
supply chain research provides an objective method for comparing the resilience of supply chains and highlighting
components that may be critical