Resource scarcity, energy use and environmental impact: A case study of the New Bedford, Massachusetts, USA, fisheries

The commercial fishing fleet in New Bedford, Massachusetts, USA, harvests seafood on George’s Bank, home of one of the nation’s most productive fisheries. We calculated the energy return on investment (EROI) and carbon intensity of protein harvest in the New Bedford fisheries from 1968 to 1988. EROI is the ratio of the energy content of the edible fish protein harvested to the quantity of fossil fuel energy used directly in the harvesting process. Carbon intensity is the quantity of carbon dioxide (CO2) released (from the burning of fossil fuels) per calorie of edible fish protein harvested. The results show that the EROI of protein harvest declined from 0.18 to 0.028 from 1968 to 1988, indicating that the energy used to harvest seafood increased from about 6 to 36 kcal of fuel for each kilocalorie of protein harvested. The quantity of CO2 released per calorie of edible fish protein is a linear function of energy use and therefore increased in a similar manner. During this period there was a large increase in fishing effort (caused by the increase in the real price of seafood products, favorable tax treatment for new vessel construction, and low interest loans from the government), and a decline in several important species of fish. The results suggest that fishing pressure could be managed effectively by the regulation of fuel use by the fleet. Despite the increase in the price of many seafood products, fishermen absorbed many of the costs of increasing scarcity in the form of longer working hours and fewer men per vessel.

[1]  C. Hall,et al.  Energy and the U.S. Economy: A Biophysical Perspective , 1984, Science.

[2]  A. Jansson,et al.  Resources and society : a systems ecology study of the island of Gotland, Sweden , 1985 .

[3]  Sister Mechtraud join,et al.  Energy and Society , 1956 .

[4]  Colin W. Clark,et al.  Mathematical Bioeconomics: The Optimal Management of Renewable Resources. , 1993 .

[5]  D. J. Wiviott,et al.  Energy efficiency comparison between the Washington and Japanese otter trawl fisheries of the Northwest Pacific , 1975 .

[6]  R. Costanza,et al.  Embodied energy and economic valuation. , 1980, Science.

[7]  Carl Folke,et al.  A systems perspective on the interrelations between natural, human-made and cultural capital , 1992 .

[8]  H. Daly.  The Circular Flow of Exchange Value and the Linear Throughput of Matter-Energy: A Case of Misplaced Concreteness , 1985 .

[9]  John M. Hartwick,et al.  The economics of natural resource use , 1986 .

[10]  C. Cleveland,et al.  An exploration of alternative measures of natural resource scarcity: the case of petroleum resources in the U.S. , 1993 .

[11]  Courtland L. Smith,et al.  Measuring Fleet Capacity and Capacity Utilization , 1990 .

[12]  D. Meadows,et al.  The Limits to Growth , 2018, Green Planet Blues.

[13]  Carl Folke,et al.  Energy economy of salmon aquaculture in the Baltic sea , 1988 .

[14]  S. Unnasch,et al.  COMPARING THE IMPACTS OF DIFFERENT TRANSPORTATION FUELS ON THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT , 1989 .

[15]  C. Folke,et al.  Aquaculture with its environment: Prospects for sustainability , 1992 .

[16]  P. Chapman,et al.  Metal Resources and Energy , 1983 .

[17]  G. Sloggett,et al.  Energy used for pumping irrigation water. , 1986 .

[18]  N. Georgescu-Roegen.  Energy and Economic Myths , 1975 .

[19]  Harold J. Barnett,et al.  Scarcity and growth. , 1963 .

[20]  Monica Hammer.  Marine Ecosystem Support to Fisheries and Fish Trade , 1991 .

[21]  Edward N. Wolff,et al.  Productivity and American Leadership: The Long View , 1989 .

[22]  G. Miller.  Resource conservation and management , 1989 .

[23]  Rawitscher,et al.  Nutritional outputs and energy inputs in seafoods. , 1977, Science.

[24]  David Pimentel,et al.  Energy tradeoffs between Northeast fishery production and coastal power reactors , 1978 .