The vast expanse of China’s land surface results in the country’s environment varying from region to region. Environmental changes impact on China’s industries, markets, and trade, indirectly affecting not only the country’s economy but also the people who depend on aquaculture resources. Regional differentiation leads to an imbalance that severely affects social fairness and equity, which becomes a key factor limiting the sustainable development of the economy and society. Analysis and assessment of the changes in environmental factors affecting aquaculture production and fisherfolk’s income in 31 regions of China between 2010 and 2020 aim to provide a reference for regional differentiation in the economic development of aquaculture in the different regions in China, representing an essential step towards achieving the coordinated development of rural regional areas. This study’s assessment and analysis procedures adopted the principal component analysis method. The findings suggest that regional differences in Chinese fisherfolk’s income and the environmental factors affecting China’s aquaculture production are veritable. There have been subtle changes in regional differentiation over a decade. It is necessary to implement contextualized environmental management measures, concessionary taxation, and additional subsidies to address the different characteristics of China’s different regions for the future development of environmental management and narrowing the income gap, to address both the income disparities in Chinese fisherfolk’s income and environmental factors affecting Chinese aquaculture production, to achieve the harmonious development of rural regional areas.

This article uses a criterion-based method to segment visitors in the context of a contingent valuation survey. The National Forest of Leiria, located in central Portugal, is used as case study. Respondents are assigned to segments through a chi-squared automatic interaction detector method according to their willingness to pay for recreational improvements. This method identifies the main socio-economic and behavioural variables that differentiate the segments. The results show that the segment with the largest willingness to pay is formed by visitors who contribute to environmental protection and rate their recreational experience in the forest as very good. Besides these ‘environmentally friendly’ visitors, two other segments show willingness to pay above average: ‘graduates’ and ‘forest neighbours’. The study shows how the rich set of data provided by contingent valuation studies can be used to segment visitors, and therefore to support the planning and management of recreational facilities.

This study investigates the interplay between investment, training, and environmental factors in the aquaculture industry in the Guangdong region of China. Using NIPALS regression to address multicollinearity, we identify the factors that significantly impact losses of aquaculture products due to environmental factors. Our findings highlight the importance of targeted training and education for fisherfolks and extension staff to enhance environmental management practices and reduce losses. We also emphasize the need to consider regional variability and challenges in developing universal models. Based on our results, we propose using innovative technology, fostering public–private partnerships, and adapting to regional variability to address environmental challenges. Finally, we suggest establishing a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation system to assess the effectiveness of interventions and promote evidence-based decision-making for sustainable development in the region’s aquaculture sector.