Despite associated health benefits, few consumers eat the amount of seafood recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans . Increased intake is warranted, yet greater demand necessitates a sustainable supply. Aquaculture can provide healthy, sustainable seafood, yet consumers may prefer wild over farmed selections , limiting the U.S. aquaculture industry and public health initiatives . Our objective was to evaluate U.S. consumers’ perceptions of aquaculture products and production methods in order to identify potential barriers and opportunities toward increasing seafood intake.
A nationally representative survey of 1,200 U.S. adults conducted in June 2021 a ssessed knowledge of and familiarity with aquaculture products and production processes. Consumers have low average familiarity as rated via 5-point scale (1=not familiar at all, 5=extremely familiar) with aquaculture products (2.25±1.040) and, especially, processes (1.80±0.999). Women were less familiar with aquaculture products ; men were more likely to be moderately familiar (X 2 (12, n=1200) = 45.240, p<0.001). Income below $30k was associated with being “not familiar at all” with aquaculture products (X2(12, n=1081)=46.471, p<0.001) and processes (X2(12, n=1081)=21.905, p=0.039). Familiarity with aquaculture products or processes was not associated with age, education level, or living in a coastal area. More than half, and as many as 98%, of consumers failed to recognize that each of seven listed seafood selections are commonly farmed; l ess than 1% of respondents correctly recognized all seven. Fewer consumers misidentified five wild seafood types as available via aquaculture (Table 1) .
Consumers tend to agree more than disagree that aquaculture products are healthy, nutritious, tasty, low in mercury, and safe to eat, but many neither agree nor disagree with these statements. This, coupled with low familiarity with and knowledge of aquaculture products and processes indicates potential for effective educational efforts to shape consumer perceptions and increase the purchase and consumption of aquaculture products. Increased aquaculture product intake may have important implications for public health, seafood sustainability, and expanded market opportunity for the aquaculture industry.