Aquaculture system diversity and sustainable development: fish farms and their representation
Open Access
- 1 April 2010
- journal article
- Published by EDP Sciences in Aquatic Living Resources
- Vol. 23 (2), 187-198
- https://doi.org/10.1051/alr/2010018
Abstract
Initiatives for the sustainable development of aquaculture have so far focused on the production of codes of conduct, of best management practices, of standards etc., most of which have been developed by international organisations, the industrial sector and non governmental organisations. They were, to a large extent, produced using a “top down” process and inspired by models from intensive industrial shrimp and sea fish farming (mainly salmon). However, most of global aquaculture production comes from small- and medium-sized farms, essentially in Asia which contributes 92% of the total world aquaculture production volume. The objective of this article is to define the contours of systemic typologies that are able to express the sustainability conditions of aquaculture systems. The proposed approach builds on surveys of aquaculture systems which differ in terms of their biogeographical nature (temperate/tropical and north/south countries) or their farming techniques and their governance systems. This work is a prerequisite to any attempt at an individualised and comparative evaluation of specific aquaculture systems from either global or territorial viewpoints. In order to go beyond the cleavage of a typology based on the differentiation between developed and developing countries, three typologies were produced. These typologies allow for discriminatory variables to be identified such as for example the marketing methods or the pace of innovation: a structural typology, a functional typology and a systemic typology. Finally, the representations of aquaculture activity and of its sustainability that producers have of the 4 different types that emerge from the systemic typology were recorded and analyzed. Les initiatives de développement durable de l’aquaculture ont jusqu’à présent surtout consisté dans la production de codes de conduite, de guides de bonnes pratiques, de standards, etc., élaborés pour la plupart d’entre eux par des organisations internationales, le secteur industriel et des organisations non gouvernementales. Ces documents ont largement été produits selon un processus de type « top down » et principalement inspirés par les modèles issus de l’aquaculture industrielle intensive de crevettes et de poissons marins (saumon principalement). Cependant, l’essentiel de la production de l’aquaculture mondiale provient d’exploitations de petite et moyenne taille, en Asie principalement qui contribue pour 92 % au volume total de la production aquacole mondiale. Cette étude vise précisément à définir les contours de typologies globales aptes à rendre compte des conditions de durabilité des systèmes piscicoles. La démarche proposée s’appuie sur des enquêtes réalisées sur des systèmes de production différenciés tant sur les plans de la biogéographie (pays tempérés et tropicaux, du nord et du sud) que des techniques d’élevage mises en œuvre et des modes de gouvernance de ces systèmes. Ce travail constitue le préalable à toute tentative d’évaluation à la fois individualisée et comparative de la durabilité de systèmes aquacoles spécifiques tant sur les plans systémique que territorial. Afin de dépasser le clivage d’une typologie basée sur la différenciation entre pays développés et en développement, trois typologies ont été produites. Elles permettent l’identification de variables discriminantes telles que par exemple le mode de commercialisation de la production ou le rythme des innovations mises en œuvre: une typologie structurelle, une typologie fonctionnelle et une typologie globale. Enfin, les représentations de l’activité piscicole et de la durabilité de celle-ci que se font les producteurs des 4 différents types ressortant de la typologie globale ont été recueillies et analysées.Keywords
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