Exploring the application of the social-ecological system approach in Asian shrimp farming research and its implications for global sustainable shrimp farming: A systematic review

While, shrimp farming in coastal communities contributes substantially to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 8) by generating jobs and food, it simultaneously impacts ecological and social systems. Despite the potential negative impacts on these systems, to date, there has been no synthesis from previous research about social and ecological variables and their impact on sustainability of shrimp farming. To address this gap, we have undertaken a systematic review of 113 articles, identifying research advancements, knowledge gaps, and future research directions of shrimp farming in Asia, highlighting the need for a social-ecological systems (SES) approach for the sustainability of shrimp farming. Our analysis revealed that the published research considering SES in shrimp farming was limited to the local scale and predominately considered ecological indicators of shrimp farming with low stakeholder engagement. We identified knowledge and methodological gaps (e.g., longitudinal study, social science methods, and SES complexity), which necessitate equitable integration of ecological and social systems in future studies on shrimp farming. Our proposed conceptual framework on shrimp farming management is designed to identify and explore the SES components and their intricate interactions to enhance the system resilience for sustainable shrimp farming management and achieving the zerohunger goal (SDG 2).