“One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish”: How ethical beliefs influence consumer perceptions of “blue” aquaculture products?

Country-specific food culture and scientific knowledge transfer events - Do they influence the purchasing behaviour of seafood products?

A positive perception of aquaculture products is essential to boost production by using more sustainable and eco-friendly solutions. However, consumer perception and resulting purchasing decisions remain poorly understood. In most European countries, the consumer perception tends to be rather negative, which is reinforced by knowledge gaps and misleading information from the media. This is believed to have the greatest impact on the current low consumption rate of farmed fish across Europe. Previous research has suggested that consumers may often be reluctant to change their seafood purchasing behaviour despite having a solid scientific understanding of aquaculture products and their mode of production. In this study, we investigated the extent to which country-specific contexts and degree of scientific knowledge contribute to the purchasing behaviour of consumers across Europe. To this end, interactive poster surveys and semi-structured interviews were conducted at eight different knowledge transfer events (KTEs) across three countries, targeting 383 participants. The application of a yet underutilized method, an interactive poster survey, underscored the need to use new approaches to tackle consumer behaviour. Our results indicate that increased scientific knowledge does not lead to changes in purchasing behaviour per se. Perceptions and purchasing habits are very contextual and vary from culture to culture. This points to the highly interlinked nature of country-specific marine food culture that ranges between individual awareness, scientific knowledge, and socio-cultural contexts, all of which renders in resulting individual purchasing decisions. Our results suggest focusing more on the sustainability of a product and emphasising the ongoing transition towards a circular economy approach in the aquaculture sector may be a promising pathway to foster more sustainability-driven purchasing decisions in the seafood sector. Our findings also question whether trying to educate the public about more sustainable purchasing criteria is really the key to foster more sustainable consumption patterns or whether we are working from misleading assumptions that lead to wrong approaches. In conclusion, a lack of clear and easily accessible information appears to be the main barrier to social acceptance of sustainable aquaculture products in Europe.

An Approach to the Spanish Consumer's Perception of the Sensory Quality of Environmentally Friendly Seabass

Seabass is one of the leading aquaculture species in Europe. Sensory analysis is essential for new product development. This research focused on establishing and differentiating the opinion of consumers about seabass quality obtained with organic feeding. Fish were fed for 196 days with four treatments (a control diet with 30% fishmeal and three diets with different levels of fishmeal supplemented with organic vegetable ingredients: 25%, 30% and 35%). Experimental diets were compared with commercial samples from the retail industry that were considered as “adequate quality for fish”. Two sensory analyses were carried out, check-all-that-apply (CATA) to obtain feedback on consumers’ characterization towards a different type of fish evaluated and projective mapping (PM) to measure the similarity among a set of products and establish a comparison between results provided by both methods. According to the CATA results, white color, softness, meaty taste and juicy texture were considered relevant attributes, also showing a good relationship with an adequate cooked fish description. A penalty analysis confirmed that the previous characteristics were considered essential while fibrous was an undesirable attribute. The projective mapping showed a similar sensory configuration to the CATA, corroborating these findings that showed that commercial fish were placed in a position away from the rest of the treatments, and the organic diet with a higher level of fishmeal (35%) was the most distant from the control diet.

The Effects of COVID-19 on Beef Consumer Preferences and Beliefs in Colombia: A Logit Model Approach

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought impacts on the food system in several ways, such as on the supply and demand of food or changes in consumer preferences. However, little is known yet about these effects but needs to be analyzed to define actions and policies for crisis mitigation and achieving food system resilience and food security. In this article, we estimate the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on changes in food consumer preferences in Colombia, applying a logit model approach for seven attributes, namely animal welfare, environmental sustainability, information on the origin and manufacturing of food, food appearance, food price, fair payment to the producer, and food packaging. In addition, we provide an analysis of changes in beef consumption during the lockdown, since the beef industry is among Colombia's most important agricultural activities and is heavily affected by substitution effects. Our results show that consumer beliefs regarding these attributes remained mostly stable, but that income is a determining factor for the decision to consume certain types of food, such as beef, rather than for possible changes in beliefs. This means that income ends up being decisive for the consumption of food such as beef and that, for its part, it does not have a greater weight in the change of beliefs of the people surveyed. The results will help the food system actors in defining interventions for achieving food security and resilience.

Small-Scale Coastal Fisheries in the Midst of Adaptation and Diversification: Insights from Southern Italy

The study looks at the problems facing coastal fishing communities. It highlights the impacts that, in the complex framework of the EU reforms, have manifested themselves on economic activities and on society. The aim of the paper is twofold: to examine small-scale artisanal fishing in an area of Southern Italy in order to develop resilience and diversification and at the same time to outline the profiles of local bluefish buyers to highlight development strategies for the sector. The research carried out through a direct survey by administering a questionnaire to fishermen operating in areas of Southern Italy and the data cross-referenced with the opinions of local consumers. A conjoint experiment, followed by a multiple correspondence analysis and cluster identification, was used to outline the profiles of local bluefish buyers. The results of the analysis reveal that the fish market and the restaurant sector are the main distribution channels preferred by fishermen. Furthermore, fishermen are very sensitive to environmental issues and are willing to collaborate and actively participate in the environmental protection of the sea. Consumers recognise the quality of local bluefish, and they implicitly perceive the sustainability of the method of capture. The results show the need to undertake synergistic actions for the fishing industry, capable of activating marketing strategies adequately to support, promote and develop the sector. The results of the study provide helpful information for food companies in order to better segment their market and target their consumers, as well as to effectively promote their product using brands, certifications and traceability.

Legal regulations and consumer attitudes regarding the use of products obtained from aquaculture

Aquaculture is an industrial activity that not only aims to be a source of quality food, but also is a way to restock fish populations and to conserve the biodiversity of our oceans. On the other hand, the production system can influence the consumer perceptions about what is purchased and consumed, as well as the subsequent environmental and social effects. Fish feeding production is affected by the growth of aquaculture and the increasing demand that have let to deficit, high prices, and low ecological safety of fish meal and oil. In this regard, the use of microbial biomass obtained from a variety of microorganisms has been reported as a potential substitute for plant- and animal-derived ingredients, satisfying the requirements in protein and energy and even adding functional properties. In addition, microalgae can increase the nutritional value of animal feed, play a key role in the physiological growth and external appearance of aquatic animals. Finally, politicians, industry and society in general should be careful with the numerous uncertainties still present in the sector that can weaken its sustainability from environmental, social and economic perspectives.