Environmental Strategies, Differentiation and Competitive Advantage in Aquaculture: A Bibliometric Analysis
Main Article Content
Abstract
The relationship between environmental strategies, differentiation and competitive advantage in aquaculture has been addressed from lines of research on certification, traceability, standards, value chains, innovation, access to markets and environmental assessment. However, this knowledge is distributed among subfields that are not always read in an integrated way. This study analyzes the structure and evolution of scientific production on this intersection through a bibliometric analysis based on Scopus. The corpus was composed of 85 documents published between 2006 and 2026, selected using thematic, documentary and metadata inclusion criteria, with manual review of relevance. The descriptive analysis was performed with Bibliometrix/Biblioshiny, while VOSviewer was used to build networks of co-occurrence, co-authorship, cocitation and bibliographic coupling. The results show a gradual growth production, with greater accumulation in recent years and with 2026 as a partial period. Aquaculture was the source with the largest presence, followed by magazines associated with sustainability, marine policy and aquatic production systems. The co-occurrence network identified five thematic areas: governance, certification and trade; digital innovation and food chains; sustainability and value chains; market, traceability and aquaculture production; and environmental assessment. The intellectual structure showed shared referents and a segmented documentary organization, with 61 cited authors connected in seven clusters and 80 documents coupled in 13 clusters. The results indicate that environmental strategies can support differentiation and competitive positioning when articulated with governance, traceability, verifiable metrics, productive capacities and market recognition. The study provides an integrated bibliometric mapping of a dispersed field and identifies routes for future research on aquaculture chains, certification, technology adoption, price transmission and value capture.
Article Details
Section
How to Cite
References
1. Ababouch, L., Nguyen, K. A. T., Castro de Souza, M., & Fernandez-Polanco, J. (2023). Value chains and market access for aquaculture products. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society, 54(2), 527-553. https://doi.org/10.1111/jwas.12964
2. Aria, M., & Cuccurullo, C. (2026). bibliometrix: Comprehensive science mapping analysis (Version 5.3.0) [R package]. CRAN. https://cran.r-project.org/package=bibliometrix
3. Azizah, F. F. N., Ishihara, H., Zabala, A., Sakai, Y., Suantika, G., & Yagi, N. (2020). Diverse perceptions on eco-certification for shrimp aquaculture in Indonesia. Sustainability, 12(22), 9387. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229387
4. Bush, S. R. (2018). Understanding the potential of eco-certification in salmon and shrimp aquaculture value chains. Aquaculture, 493, 376-383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2017.07.027
5. Bush, S. R., Belton, B., Little, D. C., & Islam, M. S. (2019). Emerging trends in aquaculture value chain research. Aquaculture, 498, 428-434. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2018.08.077
6. Chang, W., Cheng, J., Allaire, J. J., Sievert, C., Schloerke, B., Aden-Buie, G., Xie, Y., Allen, J., McPherson, J., Dipert, A., & Borges, B. (2026). shiny: Web application framework for R (Version 1.13.0) [R package]. CRAN. https://cran.r-project.org/package=shiny
7. Galappaththi, E. K., Kodithuwakku, S. S., & Galappaththi, I. M. (2016). Can environment management integrate into supply chain management? Information sharing via shrimp aquaculture cooperatives in northwestern Sri Lanka. Marine Policy, 68, 187-194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2016.03.013
8. Haque, M. M., Alam, M. M., Hoque, M. S., Hasan, N. A., Nielsen, M., Hossain, M. I., & Frederiksen, M. (2021). Can Bangladeshi pangasius farmers comply with the requirements of aquaculture certification? Aquaculture Reports, 21, 100811. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aqrep.2021.100811
9. Islam, M. R., Olowe, O. S., Mely, S. S., Hossain, M. A., Das, M., & Zaman, M. F. U. (2023). Review of the current situation, problems, and challenges in fish seed production and supply for Bangladesh’s aquaculture development. Aquatic Living Resources, 36, 32. https://doi.org/10.1051/alr/2023028
10. Jolly, C. M., Nyandat, B., Yang, Z., Ridler, N., Matias, F., Zhang, Z., Murekezi, P., & Menezes, A. (2023). Dynamics of aquaculture governance. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society, 54(2), 427-481. https://doi.org/10.1111/jwas.12967
11. Kumaran, M., Geetha, R., Antony, J., Vasagam, K. P. K., Anand, P. R., Ravisankar, T., Angel, J. R. J., De, D., Muralidhar, M., Patil, P. K., & Vijayan, K. K. (2021). Prospective impact of Corona virus disease (COVID-19) related lockdown on shrimp aquaculture sector in India: A sectoral assessment. Aquaculture, 531, 735922. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2020.735922
12. Little, D. C., Young, J. A., Zhang, W., Newton, R. W., Al Mamun, A., & Murray, F. J. (2018). Sustainable intensification of aquaculture value chains between Asia and Europe: A framework for understanding impacts and challenges. Aquaculture, 493, 338-354. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2017.12.033
13. Mondal, H. (2026). A technical note on bibliometric analysis by Biblioshiny and VOSviewer. Indian Journal of Radiology and Imaging, 36(2), 167-174. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0045-1810060
14. Nguyen, T.-T., Pham, C. M., Thai, V. V., Tan, J. Y., Pham, H.-V., & Thi, T. H. T. (2025). How has the aquaculture supply chain’s competitiveness changed after the COVID-19 pandemic in emerging countries? The case of Vietnam. Sustainability, 17(4), 1451. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17041451
15. Nor, A. M., Gray, T. S., Caldwell, G. S., & Stead, S. M. (2020). A value chain analysis of Malaysia’s seaweed industry. Journal of Applied Phycology, 32, 2161-2171. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-019-02004-3
16. Oliveira, J., Lima, J. E., da Silva, D., Kuprych, V., Faria, P. M., Teixeira, C., Ferreira Cruz, E., & Rosado da Cruz, A. M. (2021). Traceability system for quality monitoring in the fishery and aquaculture value chain. Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, 5, 100169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafr.2021.100169
17. Pazmiño, M. L., Chico-Santamarta, L., Boero, A., & Ramirez, A. D. (2025). Environmental life cycle assessment and potential improvement measures in the shrimp and prawn aquaculture sector: A literature review. Aquaculture and Fisheries, 10(2), 183-201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aaf.2024.06.003
18. Pham, T. A. N., Meuwissen, M. P. M., Le, T. C., Bosma, R. H., Verreth, J., & Lansink, A. O. (2018). Price transmission along the Vietnamese pangasius export chain. Aquaculture, 493, 416-423. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2017.04.028
19. Posit team. (2026). RStudio: Integrated development environment for R (Version 2026.4.0.526) [Computer software]. Posit Software, PBC. https://posit.co/
20. R Core Team. (2026). R: A language and environment for statistical computing (Version 4.5.3) [Computer software]. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. https://www.r-project.org/
21. Rejeb, A., Rejeb, K., & Keogh, J. G. (2025). The nexus of IoT and aquaculture: A bibliometric analysis. Applied Food Research, 5, 100838. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.afres.2025.100838
22. Rowan, N. J. (2023). The role of digital technologies in supporting and improving fishery and aquaculture across the supply chain: Quo Vadis? Aquaculture and Fisheries, 8(4), 365-374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aaf.2022.06.003
23. Saguin, K. (2018). Mapping access to urban value chains of aquaculture in Laguna Lake, Philippines. Aquaculture, 493, 424-435. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2017.01.030
24. Senthilkumar, T., Panigrahi, S. S., Thirugnanam, N., & Kaushik Raja, B. K. R. (2025). Automation in the shellfish aquaculture sector to ensure sustainability and food security. AgriEngineering, 7(11), 387. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriengineering7110387
25. Thompson, B. S., & Rust, S. (2023). Blocking blockchain: Examining the social, cultural, and institutional factors causing innovation resistance to digital technology in seafood supply chains. Technology in Society, 73, 102235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2023.102235
26. Thompson, B. S., & Rust, S. (2025). Sustainable development of seafood supply chains via blockchain technology: Innovation adoption and implementation by businesses and entrepreneurs. Sustainable Development, 33(4), 5661-5675. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.3424
27. Tolentino-Zondervan, F., Ngoc, P. T. A., & Roskam, J. L. (2023). Use cases and future prospects of blockchain applications in global fishery and aquaculture value chains. Aquaculture, 565, 739158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2022.739158
28. Van Eck, N. J., & Waltman, L. (2023). VOSviewer manual: Manual for VOSviewer version 1.6.20. Leiden University. https://www.vosviewer.com/documentation/manual_vosviewer_1.6.20.pdf
29. Wei, Q. W., Zou, Y., Li, P., & Li, L. (2011). Sturgeon aquaculture in China: Progress, strategies and prospects assessed on the basis of nation-wide surveys (2007-2009). Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 27(2), 162-168. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0426.2011.01669.x
30. Ziegler, F., Nistad, A. A., Langeland, M., Wocken, Y., Hognes, E. S., & Mehta, S. (2024). Greenhouse gas emission reduction opportunities for the Norwegian salmon farming sector: Can they outweigh growth? Aquaculture, 581, 740431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2023.740431