Economic comparison between offshore and inshore aquaculture production systems of European sea bass in Italy

• Offshore production system is predicted to increase in the next future.
• We carried out a comparison between offshore and inshore farms of European sea bass.
• Offshore farm showed the best profitability also with Monte Carlo analysis.
• Sensitivity analysis showed that profitability depends mainly on fish price changes.
• Offshore system could represent an opportunity for fish farmers.

Offshore production system is predicted to increase in the near future driven by the lack of coastal space and lower environmental impacts.The aim of this paper has been to evaluate the economic performance of offshore production system respect to inshore one, by comparing net present value (NPV), discounted payback time (DPBT) and internal rate of return (IRR) of two Italian mariculture farms that produce European sea bass.Results showed a better economic profitability of offshore farm, even if sensitivity analysis revealed that financial indicators of both aquaculture production systems have been very sensitive to market condition changes.So, offshore production system could represent an opportunity for fish farmers to increase their profitability, obtaining a more sustainable production and avoiding possible conflicts with other human activities in coastal areas.