Italy supplies approximately 96% of EU-farmed Manila clams. Following a reduction in wild seed availability, farmers started to depend on hatchery-produced seed, mainly imported from other countries. Indeed, only one hatchery is currently operating in Italy. This study quantifies the environmental impacts of seed production in this Italian hatchery facility to inform future planning for improving the sustainability of the supply chain. The environmental performance of the Manila clam hatchery was evaluated using the Life Cycle Assessment methodology. A cradle-to-gate analysis was performed, covering the following production phases: (1) microalgae production, (2) broodstock maintenance and conditioning, and (3) larval rearing until marketable size. The functional unit adopted was 1 kg of live clam seed. The main driver of the environmental impacts was electricity consumption, contributing over 80% for all impact categories. Other inputs showed minor contributions to different impact categories, including liquid oxygen, water pumps, and high-density polyethylene. This study highlights that the environmental burden associated with seed production could be reduced by switching to alternative technologies to meet energy needs, such as investments in photovoltaic and wind energy production systems.

In recent years, concerns about sustainability in livestock farming have been raised. The livestock sector is accused of substantial greenhouse gas emissions, environmental pollution (i.e., wastewater with high COD and rich in N and P that can pollute freshwater and cause eutrophication), and resource consumption. The use of fossil resources to produce synthetic fertilizers is the major source of pollution indirectly attributable to livestock farming. However, the polluting load of the livestock sector can be used to produce energy and materials, increasing its sustainability. The scope of this work was to critically review the methods of management and valorization of waste from the livestock sector (slurry, manure, abattoir wastewater, slaughterhouse waste, and aquaculture waste). The various technologies for energy valorization (i.e., bio-H₂ and bio-CH₄) will be represented. The perspectives and challenges for the exploitation of these wastes to produce high-added-value molecules, extraction of bioactive molecules, alternative proteins, biofertilizers, and biopolymers will also be discussed in view of enhancing sustainability. Examples of possible large animal waste-based integrated biorefineries have also been proposed.

Sturgeon farming poses an interesting decision: give priority to highly prized caviar or meat. Indeed, sturgeons are mainly reared in aquaculture to produce caviar. However, the economic profitability of a sturgeon farm also depends on the existence of a meat market. Meat is still an important product for sturgeon farmers once the stock of caviar-producing females has been established. This paper takes a case study approach and analyses how an Italian producer addresses the trade-off, adopting a methodology that measures the value of the economic productivity of production inputs, e.g., the measure of the profitability of the inputs, and compares them with the costs of the inputs and the prices of the outputs. This analysis is the first attempt, to our knowledge, to adopt an economic analysis to address this choice problem, based on a very representative case study. This helps monitor whether the farm’s production choices are economically efficient and effective and whether and how those can be improved. The results show that the farm maximizes profit but does not reach its optimal production level. This implies that both (1) producing more output and (2) a further switch to caviar production for less meat are economically efficient production strategies.