Life Cycle Assessment of Pacific White Shrimp (<i>Penaeus vannamei</i>) Farming System in Trang Province, Thailand

Life cycle assessment (LCA) of Pacific white shrimp ( Penaeus vannamei ) was conducted in Trang province, southern Thailand during January, 2011 to December, 2012 to investigate the rate of carbon massflow in shrimp farming. Total 106 shrimp farm owners were interviewed and questionnaired. Carbon content, carbon fixation and carbon emission were also analyzed. The results revealed that the rate of carbon massflow from shrimp feed (C-input) was 0.015±0.031, carbon fixation in shrimp was 0.014±0.031, the carbon emission from shrimp was 0.001±0.000 and energy usage was 22.676±16.891 kg.C/kg shrimp/day. The environmental impacts were mainly caused by energy use, farm-level effluents and transportation. It can be concluded that Pacific white shrimp farming system was an important part of environmental problems.