CO2 REDUCED TRANSPORT
- safeguarding lobster exports
Potential savings of 49,000 tons CO2 on the freight of Lobsters between North America and Europe can be instrumental in maintaining European market shares for lobster exporters.
There is no doubt that with the possible upcoming restrictions on airfreight, luxury products like lobsters that are not regarded essential food or health products, will be the first to be targeted with restrictions and taxes. Leading European retailers have already started to label airfreight lobsters warning consumers against high carbon foot prints due to air freight.
Air freighting a ton of lobsters between North America and Europe pollutes the environment with 3.4 tons CO2 per ton cargo. This means that the total pollution into Europe on the North American Lobsters alone is 52,000 tons CO2. By comparison, ocean freighting the very same lobsters on board a Maersk vessel in an Aqualife container only pollutes the environment with 0.120 CO2 per ton cargo – this means that by very simple measures we will be able to cut 49,000 tons C02 of the North American carbon foot print simply by switching from air freight to the Aqualife transport system.
Carbon foot print score-cards are not yet a given factor in the market place, says Maja Wall from Wall&Co. Consumers need to be made aware that alternatives to airfreight do exist before they consider black-listing the North American Lobsters. If the North American lobster first gets an image of being non-sustainable, then such an image can be hard to change first established - getting the message out about the sustainable alternative is a matter of urgency and will in any case be for the benefit of private consumers at large.
It will be the major task of the central European (Aqualife) distribution hub at the fish auction in URK, Holland to actively promote the fact that there is an alternative, and that consumers do not have to feel guilty when indulging in the otherwise highly sustainable delight a Canadian Hard-shell lobster is.
Relevant documents:
First cross-Atlantic shipment of bivalves to Holland
The Aqualife design principles
