SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD FROM AQUACULTURE AND WILD FISHERIES: INSIGHTS FROM A DISCRETE CHOICE EXPERIMENT IN NORTHERN GERMANY

There is an increasing focus on sustainable seafood that creates a potential for segmentation in the seafood market. Several recent studies demonstrate a consumer preference for wild seafood that is labeled as sustainable relatively to unlabeled seafood. In addition, there is increasing evidence of a preference for wild fish relatively to farmed fish despite an increasing aquaculture production and market presence. Recently, ecolabels have been introduced also for farmed fish. An interesting question is if the preference for wild fish primarily is related to the perceived sustainability for aquaculture or whether it is a perceived quality difference. A choice experiment is used to investigate these issues in Germany for salmon. Using a mixed logit model, the random parameter specification indicates substantial variation in consumer preferences beyond demographic variables. In particular, the ecolabel makes up for the negative association of aquaculture, indicating that environmental concerns and not quality differences are the major issue.