Evaluation of Environmental Hotspots and improvements for sustainable mussel production: An LCA approach on the case study of La Spezia (Italy)

This study presents a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of mussel farming in the Gulf of La Spezia (Liguria, Italy), a site of particular interest due to its proximity to the Cinque Terre National Park, the presence of a major industrial port, and the coexistence with traditional aquaculture practices. Innovatively, this study combines LCA with alternative scenarios analysis to explore circular economy strategies in mussel farming, providing practical solutions to reduce environmental impact and valorize by-products. The results highlight the importance of reducing imports, limiting the use of plastic materials, and optimizing waste management practices. In particular, the farming phase, mainly driven by the import of mussels from abroad, accounts for more than 90% of the total impacts in 10 out of 11 categories analyzed. Scenario analysis shows that reducing imports by 50% (Scenario C) decreases impacts by about 42–48%, while their complete elimination (Scenario D) leads to drastic reductions, exceeding 85% in all categories and reaching up to 97% for Global Warming. The goal is to advance toward a sustainable and circular blue economy model that supports environmental protection, promotes responsible food, and contributes to the development of the local economy while also addressing new production scenarios.