The United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) has devoted substantial effort into the development of aquaculture technologies for 20 selected warmwater marine finfish species (Almaco Jack, Atlantic Cod, Black Drum, Black Sea Bass, California Flounder, California Yellowtail, Cobia, Florida Pompano, Greater Amberjack, Olive Flounder, Red Drum, Red Snapper, Sablefish, Southern Flounder, Spotted Seatrout, Spotted Wolffish, Striped Bass, Summer Flounder, Tripletail, and White Sea Bass). Suc cessful commercialization of these species hinges on the availability of readily accessible information on the size of markets, consumer preferences, and market opportunities. However, information on the existing markets and marketing of warmwater marine finfish is currently deficient. This study attempts to address this knowledge gap by assessing and summarizing consumer preferences for 20 locally available warmwater marine finfish species identified as species of interest in southern tier states in the US. A total of 817 surveys (with approximately equal quotas from each state) were collected from seafood consumers across nine southeastern states (Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi) using the online Qualtrics platform.
Ninety-four percent of respondents identified a marine fish species as their favorite fish, while 89% of respondents indicated a marine finfish was their most consumed fish species (Table 1). Results indicate that among the identified species of interest, r ed s napper and s potted wolffish are the most and least recognized species, respectively . While consumer knowledge and preferences for each species vary across states and other socio-demographic characteristics, being available for sale and the opportunity to taste in supermarkets are critical to increasing consumption among consumers . While salmon and tuna were most often listed as favorite or most consumed, 59% and 49% of respondents indicated a marine species other than salmon and tuna was preferred. Findings provide a better understanding of the existing geographic markets and consumer preferences which are vital to the identification and development of new market opportunities for warmwater marine finfish and the improvement and expansion of aquaculture production of marine finfish in the US.