Environmental Assessment of Giant Freshwater Prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii Farming through Life Cycle Assessment

The giant freshwater prawn (GFP), Macrobrachium rosenbergii has emerged as a significant crustacean in global aquaculture. A cradle-to-farm Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was used to assess the potential environmental impacts of GFP in Malaysia. The four main iterative farming phases involved were pond preparation, stocking, farming, and harvesting. The impact categories chosen were global warming, terrestrial ecotoxicity, terrestrial acidification, freshwater eutrophication, human non-carcinogenic toxicity, human carcinogenic activity, and water consumption. The software SimaPro 9.3.0.3 was used for impact analysis, with background data from the database Ecoinvent 3.0. and ReCiPe 2016 Midpoint (H) V1.06/World (2010). Among other environmental impact categories, stocking and harvesting phases contributed to human carcinogenic toxicity impact values of 33.33%, followed by farming (33.31%). Another impact category, freshwater ecotoxicity also produces the same pattern with the stocking and harvesting process, still generating the highest impact value of 33.34%, followed by farming (33.30%). Apart from the identified capital items that require consideration for future waste management in aquaculture, this LCA study found that M. rosenbergii farming generates a low impact to the environment, however, could inspire further research on other perspectives of sustainability.

Automated summary

This study used a cradle-to-farm Life Cycle Assessment to assess the potential environmental impacts of Macrobrachium rosenbergii farming in Malaysia. The study found that the farming phase had the largest impact on human carcinogenic toxicity and freshwater ecotoxicity. Overall, M. rosenbergii farming was found to have a low environmental impact, but further research on other aspects of sustainability is needed.