Research Information System
Aquaculture International, vol.31, no.5, pp.3023-3053, 2023 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
The aim of this study was to assess the cultural energy use and energy use efficiency for European seabass production in earthen ponds. Data were obtained in the same year from three earthen ponds having similar production capacities. Fish with initial weight of 5.0–9.4 g were stocked for 670–681 days and weighed 421–479 g at harvest. Total cultural energy expended was the summation of cultural energy expended on compound diet, general management, transportation and machinery, equipment, and construction. The cultural energy required to produce 1 kg of fish was 89.13 MJ and cultural energy budget showed that electricity and compound diet constituted 68.72 and 28.23% of total cultural energy expenditure. The energy content was 6.05 MJ kg-1 marketed carcass. Cultural energy expended during feeding was 100.26 MJ per kg carcass. Protein energy production efficiency in carcass defined as MJ input/MJ protein energy output was 95.29. Cultural energy use efficiency for carcass defined as MJ input/MJ output was 69.65. The cultural energy required for producing 1 kg of protein was 521.23 MJ. The energy conversion ratio for human consumption is a good standardized way to compare the efficiency of different foods and their production methods and this study showed that European seabass reared in earthen ponds was less efficient in converting cultural energy into food energy than other farm animals. Cultural energy use efficiency is a good indicator of sustainability. Therefore, to determine the sustainability of a production system, this parameter should be considered and used by decision-makers for determining long-term policies.