Estimation and evaluation of aquaculture mass load based on inventory and improved entropy weight: The case of Zhuhai City, China

Abstract

China’s rapid development of aquaculture has focused attention on its environmental impacts and the need for a comprehensive method that will enable environmental managers to estimate and evaluate aquaculture pollutant emissions. Few reports have estimated the environmental quality load of aquaculture conducted under different culture modes at the township level, and even fewer have studied the methods used to evaluate pollutant emissions. Here, we present a novel joint method based on an inventory analysis and an improved entropy weight method supplemented by remote sensing and an analysis of emission intensity. The method was applied to estimate and evaluate the environmental mass load of aquaculture in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China. The results showed that the main pollutant in areas dominated by freshwater aquaculture was chemical oxygen demand, whereas in areas dominated by mariculture the main pollutant was total nitrogen. Negative emissions occurred in Jinwan and Gaolan Port Districts, whereas the highest environmental quality load under different aquaculture modes was found in Baijiao Town, located in Doumen District. This study identified the excessive aquaculture density in Zhuhai. More generally, it provides a reference method for the environmental management of aquaculture in coastal cities.

Keywords

• Aquaculture
• Case study
• Equivalent pollution load
• Improved entropy weight method
• Inventory analysis