ABSTRACT
The growing global population involves a significant increase in food demand. This increase, together with the depletion of fish stocks, has promoted the transition from traditional fishing toward aquaculture systems which have become one of the main sectors to cover the need to feed the world population. Aquaculture systems entail different pressures on the environment, society, and economy which compromise its sustainability. Nowadays, the most widely used scientific tool to evaluate the sustainability of the aquafeed production systems is the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) that identifies hot spots from a cradle-to-grave perspective and, therefore, allows the introduction of improvements in these systems. Aquaculture is a complex and heterogeneous system that uses different production methods, technologies, stages and processes, and farmed species; all these variables must be taken into account in the LCA to ensure a full life-cycle that guarantees a holistic assessment of the sustainability. This chapter focuses on the identification and evaluation of the environmental, economic, and social impacts of the aquafeed production systems using the LCA methodology to introduce improvements and mitigate these impacts, which would allow achieving more sustainable production and seafood consumption.
