@article{fdi:010072789,
  title = {{R}earing performances and environmental assessment of sea cage farming in {T}unisia using life cycle assessment ({LCA}) combined with {PCA} and {HCPC}},
  author = {{A}bdou, {K}. and {L}asram, {F}. {B}. and {R}omdhane, {M}. {S}. and {L}e {L}oc'h, {F}ran{\c{c}}ois and {A}ubin, {J}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{T}he present study aims to understand the influence of rearing practices and the contributions of production phases of fish farming to their environmental impacts and determine which practices and technical characteristics can best improve the farms' environmental performance. {A}nother objective is to identify the influence of variability in farming practices on the environmental performances of sea cage aquaculture farms of sea bass and sea bream in {T}unisia by using principal component analysis ({PCA}) and hierarchical clustering on principal components ({HCPC}) methods and then combining the classification with life cycle assessment ({LCA}). {T}he approach consisted of three major steps: (i) of the 24 aquaculture farms in {T}unisia, 18 were selected which follow intensive rearing practices in sea cages of {E}uropean sea bass ({D}icentrarchus labrax) and gilthead sea bream ({S}parus aurata) and then a typology was developed to classify the studied farms into rearing practice groups using {HCPC}; (ii) {LCA} was performed on each aquaculture farm and (iii) mean impacts and contributions of production phases were calculated for each group of farms. {I}mpact categories included acidification, eutrophication, global warming, land occupation, total cumulative energy demand and net primary production use. {R}esults revealed high correlation between rearing practices and impacts. {T}he feed-conversion ratio ({FCR}), water column depth under the cages and cage size had the greatest influence on impact intensity. {R}earing practices and fish feed were the greatest contributors to the impacts studied due to the production of fish meal and oil and the low efficiency of feed use, which generated large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus emissions. {I}t is necessary to optimise the diet formulation and to follow better feeding strategies to lower the {FCR} and improve farm performance. {W}ater column depth greatly influenced the farms' environmental performance due to the increase in waste dispersion at deeper depths, while shallow depths resulted in accumulation of organic matter and degradation of water quality. {C}age size influences environmental performances of aquaculture farms. {T}hus, from an environmental viewpoint, decision makers should grant licences for farms in deeper water with larger cages and encourage them to improve their {FCR}s. {T}his study is the first attempt to combine the {HCPC} method and the {LCA} framework to study the environmental performance of aquacultural activity. {T}he typology developed captures the variability among farms because it considers several farm characteristics in the classification. {T}he {LCA} demonstrated that technical parameters in need of improvement are related to the technical expertise of farm managers and workers and to the location of the farm.},
  keywords = {{E}nvironmental impact ; {L}ife cycle assessment ({LCA}) ; {M}arine aquaculture ; {T}unisia ; {T}ypology ; {TUNISIE} ; {MEDITERRANEE}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{I}nternational {J}ournal of {L}ife {C}ycle {A}ssessment},
  volume = {23},
  numero = {5},
  pages = {1049--1062},
  ISSN = {0948-3349},
  year = {2018},
  DOI = {10.1007/s11367-017-1339-2},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010072789},
}