Session: Fisheries

A Life Cycle Assessment of the Nova Scotia Lobster Industry: Evaluating Impacts and Striving for Efficiency
Catherine J Boyd,^*   Dalhousie University, School of Resource and Environmental Studies
Peter H Tyedmers,   Dalhousie University, School for Resource and Environmental Studies

Increasingly, Life Cycle Assessment has been applied to food production systems. Typically the bulk of the environmental ‘hot spots’ associated with food delivery system are accrued upstream, as is the case with agriculture and livestock rearing or during the capture phase of fisheries. Depending on the types of processing and means of transport engaged after the farm gate or the wharf, downstream impacts, although sometimes significant, are often dwarfed by the impacts associated with primary production. The Nova Scotia, Canada live lobster industry is an exception, however. The post harvest storage and transport of live lobsters contribute proportionally high levels of environmental impacts.

Although the target species and the geographic location of the lobster fisheries in both the US and Canada are quite similar, the management structures are unique in both countries, and also vary among provinces and states. In addition, unlike its US counterpart, the Canadian lobster industry includes a significant amount of infrastructure dedicated to long-term storage of live animals. This research looks at the lobster industry in the south western part of Nova Scotia (lobster fishing area 34) which provides 40% of Canada’s total landings. Also included in the analysis is a modest storage and transport scenario for lobsters delivered to Los Angeles, California.

Although the fishing phase of the industry (including boat and gear construction and maintenance, fuel and bait use) contributes greatly to most impact categories, the storage and transport phases can contribute as much or more to certain impacts. Fuel consumption on the fishing vessels drives many of the fishing-related impacts while the impacts related to storage are driven by the high coal consumption in the Nova Scotia electricity mix and the long periods of time that live lobsters can be stored before being shipped to market. The need to transport live animals quickly demands the use of air transport, which drives many of the impacts associated with this phase of the production chain. Efforts to reduce the overall environmental impact of the industry should be focused in these areas.

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