Greenhouse gas emissions, consumption, and fuel use intensity by an artisanal double-rig trawl fleet in southern Brazil

Abstract

In Brazil, most national marine production is captured by artisanal fisheries. The present study was conducted in a traditional trawl fishing area for the capture of the Atlantic seabob shrimp Xiphopenaeus kroyeri in southern Brazil between 1996 and 2015 to obtain initial estimates of direct fuel inputs and greenhouse gas emissions. The data includes vessel characteristics, total and seabob shrimp production, and trawl duration. Approximately four million liters of fuel were consumed for an estimated catch of around 148,000 kg of fish (26.4 liters/kg captured), of which 19,000 kg were seabob shrimp (206 liters/kg captured) or 13% of total production. The carbon emitted by this fleet was almost three million GgC, between 401 and 666 tons per year. Although the number of vessels has increased over the years, catches, especially of seabob shrimp, have declined sharply, indicating over-exploitation of this resource, and reinforcing the urgent need to create management programs and selective technologies for this modality.