Application of rank sum, TOPSIS and pair-wise comparison methods for prioritising aquaculture sites

Abstract

Prioritising aquaculture sites is done based on the evaluation of number of sites in terms of number of decision criteria. In the present study, decision criteria were categorised into six broad heads of main criteria viz., water, soil, support, infrastructure, input and risk factors. Each main criterion has several sub-criteria. The weights of sub-criteria were assessed by rank sum method. The relative closeness values for all the sites for each main criterion was calculated using TOPISIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution) method. Moreover the main criteria weights were determined by pairwise comparison method. Finally, the combination of rank sum, TOPSIS and pair-wise comparison methods constituted the methodology for prioritising aquaculture sites. A case study application of prioritising the aquaculture sites was used to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed method.