Emergy analysis of pond fish farming – a case study for a large fish farm in Poland

Abstract

The immediate goal of the article is an emergy analysis of fish production on an exemplary fish farm. Additionally, it was compared, in terms of environmental burden, with other exemplary agricultural productions. On the basis of the calculated emergy inflows, selected emergy indicators (ELR, EYR, REN) were calculated, showing the scale of use of renewable and non-renewable resources. The results show that the analysed fish production does not burden the environment and largely uses renewable resources, unlike other intensive agricultural productions. The ELR value was compared with its values for other exemplary agricultural production. In fish farming, this indicator is most often lower than 1. It is assumed that such activity does not burden the environment. Animal production requires the involvement of additional space for fodder production. Therefore the differences in the area necessary for the production of a food unit (GJ) of exemplary plant and animal products are also shown. Emergy analysis and its results can provide valuable information for decision-makers in terms of the direction of a given production.