Welcome to the Sea Fish Industry Authority's greenhouse gas emission profiling tool for seafood products from capture fisheries.
The purpose of this tool is to allow users to explore the carbon implications of sourcing and supplying seafood. This will provide a better understanding of the major contributors to the "carbon footprint" of seafood products. It also provides insight into the influence that some aspects of the seafood production chain have on carbon emissions. Major potential drivers of emissions that the tool addresses include direct fuel inputs to fishing, the form and scale of transport used and the amount of time products are held in cold storage. In this tool, we have also incorporated yield rates and the degree to which processing co-products (wastes) are utilized, and users may alter these variables.
In many instances, the tool will result in estimates of total greenhouse gas emissions associated with finished seafood products that accurately reflect real world conditions (over 90% accurate). In some cases, however, the emissions estimated by this tool will not adequately reflect real world conditions because aspects of the production chain are not accounted for. Examples of these could include emissions associated with bait acquisition and storage, emission intensive packaging, etc.
Please note that this tool is intended for information purposes only and is not intended to establish the carbon footprint of a seafood product. If you are looking for a definitive carbon footprint for your product, please contact the Carbon Trust for further guidance. It should also be noted that aquaculture-sourced products are not currently supported. We hope to add this if interests warrants.
We have attempted to build a tool that is robust, easy to use and flexible. Please try it out and let us know what you think. You can reach us at: carbon@seafish.co.uk.