The fisheries industry is one of the key economic sectors, contributing greatly to exports, with a large amount of emissions from farming, exploitation, processing and transportation. Therefore, the inventory of greenhouse gases in the fisheries industry is not only a legal requirement, but also an important step for businesses to improve their competitiveness, meet international standards and move towards sustainable development. Join GREEN IN to learn more about the detailed process of inventorying greenhouse gases in the fisheries industry in the content below!
Concept and legal basis of greenhouse gas inventory
Greenhouse gas inventory is understood as the process of collecting, calculating and reporting the amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) generated from production, processing, operation and service activities. This is an important step to help businesses and management agencies grasp the level of emissions, thereby building appropriate mitigation solutions. According to the definition of IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), GHG inventory is the quantification of greenhouse gas emissions and absorption by each specific emission source, based on international standard methods and emission factors (IPCC Guidelines, 2006).
In Vietnam, greenhouse gas inventory activities have the following legal basis:
- Law on Environmental Protection 2020: Regulations on climate change response, which clearly require large emitters to conduct greenhouse gas inventories.
- Decree 06/2022/ND-CP of the Government: Regulations on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting the ozone layer, and listing industries and sectors that must conduct periodic inventories, including food processing and seafood industries.
- Circular 01/2022/TT-BTNMT of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment: Technical guidance on greenhouse gas inventories, including how to determine inventory boundaries, calculation methods, and reporting templates.
In addition to the domestic legal framework, seafood enterprises can also refer to and apply international standards:
- IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (2006, 2019 Refinement) – global guidance on emission calculation methods.
- GHG-Protocol – a set of standards developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) to help businesses calculate and report greenhouse gas emissions across their value chains.
Thus, it can be seen that the inventory of greenhouse gases in the fisheries sector is both a legal obligation according to domestic regulations and consistent with international sustainable governance trends, creating a premise for businesses to enhance their reputation and expand export markets.
Emission characteristics in the fisheries industry
In aquaculture, especially pond farming, emissions mainly come from the decomposition of organic matter in pond bottom sludge, creating methane (CH₄) – a GHG with a warming potential 28 times greater than CO₂ (according to IPCC, 2019). In addition, the use of electricity for aeration systems, water pumps, machinery and chemical operations in pond management also creates a significant amount of CO₂.
In fishing operations, vessels consume fossil fuels (mainly diesel), emitting CO₂, nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur oxides (SO₂). According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO, 2022), fish transport is one of the largest sources of emissions in the seafood value chain, especially for offshore fishing fleets.
In processing and storage, the two main sources of emissions are electricity and waste. Processing plants use many industrial refrigeration systems to preserve products, resulting in high electricity consumption and CO₂ generation. The treatment of wastewater and solid waste from processing also generates CH₄ and N₂O due to anaerobic digestion, contributing to total GHG emissions.
In the supply chain and transportation, the seafood industry relies heavily on cold logistics to maintain product quality, such as cold storage, refrigerated containers, and export transportation. This process increases energy consumption and generates additional CO₂ during storage and long-distance transportation.
Thus, it can be seen that GHG emissions in the seafood industry are multi-source, occurring throughout the product life cycle. This is a major challenge when conducting inventories and developing emission reduction solutions, but at the same time, it also opens up opportunities to apply green technologies to improve the sustainability of the entire value chain.
Greenhouse gas inventory process for the fisheries sector
To ensure transparency and consistency, the fisheries sector greenhouse gas inventory should follow a standardized process, based on IPCC guidelines and legal regulations in Vietnam. The basic steps include:
Step 1: Determine the inventory boundaries
Enterprises need to clarify the scope and objects of the inventory, including farming facilities, processing plants, transportation systems and cold storage. Determining boundaries helps avoid missing emission sources and ensures that the inventory results reflect the actual situation. According to Circular 01/2022/TT-BTNMT, the boundaries can be at the facility level or the entire enterprise level.
Step 2: Collect activity data
The necessary data include: fuel consumption for boats and machinery; electricity used at farming, processing and cold storage facilities; volume of raw materials and chemicals used; data on wastewater and solid waste. This is the most time-consuming step, especially for small-scale or scattered facilities.
Step 3: Apply emission factor
Once the operational data is available, the enterprise applies standard emission factors to convert to greenhouse gas emissions. The source of the factors can be taken from the IPCC Guidelines (2006, 2019 Refinement) or from the national emission factors issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. In some cases, the enterprise can develop its own specific factors when it has reliable measurement data.
Step 4: Calculate greenhouse gas emissions
The main GHGs in the aquaculture sector include CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O. After calculating each gas separately, the results are converted to CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e) according to the global warming potential (GWP) published by the IPCC. This conversion allows emissions from different sources to be compared and aggregated.
Step 5: Synthesis and reporting
Finally, all results are compiled and presented in a prescribed reporting format. The report must be transparent about the data sources, calculation methods and emission factors used. In Vietnam, GHG inventory reports are submitted to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and can serve international reporting obligations under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
Conclusion
In the context of major export markets increasingly tightening requirements on sustainable development and carbon neutrality reporting, the fisheries sector’s greenhouse gas inventory has become the key to improving the competitiveness of Vietnamese enterprises. At the same time, this activity also contributes to the implementation of the national commitment to Net Zero 2050, promoting the fisheries sector to develop in a green - clean - sustainable direction, meeting both domestic and international needs.