Profitability, income inequality, and subjective well-being of mariculture households in China

Mariculture has a profound potential to sustainably meet the escalating demands for food and livelihoods. However, the socioeconomic impacts of small-scale aquaculture (SSA) are poorly understood, particularly for marine SSA in China, a leading global producer of aquaculture products. Using detailed household surveys, we comprehensively evaluated profitability, income inequality, and subjective well-being of marine SSA households in a representative coastal city in Southeastern China. Our results show that mariculture practices increased income but exacerbated income inequality in animal mariculture households (AMHs) and seaweed mariculture households (SMHs). Earnings from AMHs (544 549 yuan) were four times higher than those of SMHs (141 172 yuan) although AMHs were twice as likely to make a loss (27.4% versus 12.5%). Natural capital (11.37%) and the cultured variety (12.40%) were the main contributors to mariculture income inequality for AMHs, while manufactured capital (27.59%) and previous mariculture experience (8.59%) were significant for SMHs. The well-being of AMHs was better than that of SMHs. Our results suggest that secure access to sea areas, provision of financial options to mariculture smallholders, as well as diversification in mariculture type and variety could promote the socioeconomic sustainability of mariculture development. © 2021 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd.