CONSUMER PREFERENCE FOR WILD
CAUGHT AND FARM RAISED SEAFOOD
A Comparison across Species and Consumer
Residence States
Kelly Davidson, Minling Pan
NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science
Center
Wuyang Hu, Devie Poerwanto
University of Kentucky
Dept. of Agricultural Economics
CNREP Conference, New Orleans, LA
May 26-28, 2010
U.S. BEEF, CHICKEN, AND FISH
CONSUMPTION, 1980-2008
100
90
70
Fish
60
Beef
50
40
Chicken
30
20
10
Year
Source: USDA/Economic Research Service Per Capita Availability Data
NOAA Fisheries of the United States Report, 2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1990
1989
1988
1987
1986
1985
1984
1983
1982
1981
1980
0
Year
Pounds Per Capita
80
A CLOSER LOOK AT U.S. PER CAPITA FISH
CONSUMPTION, 1980-2008
18
16
Pounds Per Capita
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Year
Source: NOAA Fisheries of the United States Report, 2008
U.S. SEAFOOD CONSUMPTION (NMFS DATA)


2008 U.S. Per Capita Fish/Shellfish Consumption
16.0 pounds

84% imported, over half of imported seafood is farm
raised

U.S. freshwater and marine aquaculture combined
provide 5% of seafood demand

U.S. seafood trade deficit of over $9 billion
US ranked 3rd in seafood consumption behind
China and Japan

2008 consumer expenditures on fishery products over
$69.9 Billion

Nearly $35 Billion in value-added contributing to GNP
TOP TEN SPECIES: US PER CAPITA
SEAFOOD CONSUMPTION IN 2008
Species (Ranked)
Pounds per capita
1. Shrimp
4.10
2. Canned Tuna
2.80
3. Salmon
1.84
4. Pollock
1.34
5. Tilapia
1.19
6. Catfish
0.92
7. Crab
0.61
8. Cod
0.44
9. Flatfish
0.43
10. Clams
0.42
Total Top 10 Species
14.1
Source: National Fisheries Institute, 2010
GLOBAL AQUACULTURE

World Per Capita Fish/Shellfish Consumption 36.2 lbs

Global wild fish harvest 90-95 million tons/yr

Global aquaculture production 60 million tons/yr



China leads in both aquaculture and wild catch



Value of $70 billion per yr
Total U.S. aquaculture production approx. $1.2 billion per yr
31 million mT farmed in 2007
14 million mT caught in 2007
U.S. and Japan major importers of fishery products – over
$13 billion each
Source: FAO data and NOAA Aquaculture Statistics
HAWAII SEAFOOD MARKET
Local per capita seafood consumption rate
approx. 3 times the national average
 Demand for most products > supply


Imports 75% of all seafood consumed
Fresh and live product markets
 Tourism, “ethnic markets”


Premium price for fresh, high quality seafood
Source: Hawaii Dept. of Agriculture
HAWAII AQUACULTURE
2008 Hawaii Aquaculture
Percent of Total Sales

Shellfish
1%

70 aquaculture
operations statewide
Offshore Marine Culture

Other
24%
Finfish
20%
Hukilau Foods


Kona Blue Water Farms


Ornamental
10%
Kona Kampachi
Record $34.7 Million total
grown in 2008
38% increase from 2007
 Hawaii County accounted
for 80%

Algae
45%
Moi Cage Culture
Source: National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA, Hawaii Field Office
PILOT STUDY RATIONALE


NOAA Aquaculture Policy
What seafood attributes are important when
comparing aquaculture with wild catch?


Perceptions of aquaculture
Consumer preferences

Across species


Popular (tuna, salmon) and less familiar (moi, tilapia)
Across different residence states
PILOT STUDY – AUGUST 2009

15 respondents in Hawaii, 17 in Kentucky




Clarity of survey questions
Awareness of aquaculture
Familiarity with species
Attribute question for each species used to determine
conjoint analysis cards
Product Attribute
Price
Food safety
Taste
Freshness
Product form (fresh/frozen, etc..)
Farm raised vs wild caught
Locally grown
Habit of consuming species/tradition
Product availability
Water/habitat pollution
Environmental impact-overfishing
1
2
3
4
5
1=Not important, 5=Very Important
PILOT SURVEY QUESTIONS

Which of the following have you purchased for home
consumption in the past 60 days?

Top ten species

How often can you find fish from aquaculture in the
market?

For seafood, which of the following types do you prefer
most:





Wild caught
Inshore aquaculture
Offshore aquaculture
Land-based aquaculture
What are the main reasons? (environmental issues,
natural resource uses, taste, food safety standards,
price, other)
MORE PILOT SURVEY QUESTIONS

For each species, which type of product have you
purchased?


How do you perceive the status of wild fish in the
U.S. for each species?


Wild Caught, Farm Raised, Both, Neither, Unsure
Severely Overfished, Moderately Overfished, Not at
all Overfished, Unsure
Are you more likely to purchase seafood grown
locally in your area?
INTERESTING COMPARISONS FROM
PILOT RESPONSES


Consumers are less familiar with term “aquaculture”
than “farm-raised”
Top ten species consumption
Shrimp, canned tuna, fresh tuna, salmon relatively equally
popular in each state
 More variation in Kentucky: Pollock, Tilapia, Catfish, Cod
– zero consumed in Hawaii, some in KY


Are you able to differentiate between wild fish and
aquaculture fish, either pre or post-consumption?
12/17 in KY “sometimes, most of the time, always”
 9/15 in HI “rarely, never” 6 in HI “sometimes” or more

MORE INTERESTING COMPARISONS

Are you more likely to purchase seafood grown locally in
your area?
Hawaii: 9 yes, 4 no, 2 unsure
 Kentucky: 4 yes, 9 no, 2 unsure


Price always important attribute for each species

Biggest differences for importance of each attribute
between Tilapia and Moi



Product familiarity
Tilapia availability: 5 Hawaii respondents indifferent, only 3
said availability was important compared to 8 in Kentucky
Importance of product availability differed by species


Tuna availability more important in Hawaii
Salmon and Tilapia availability important in Kentucky
FOR SEAFOOD, WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING
TYPES DO YOU PREFER MOST?
Hawaii
Kentucky
Wild Caught
12
11
Inshore Marine Aquaculture
1
0
Offshore Marine Aquaculture
3
2
Land-based Aquaculture
0
2
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

Consumer preferences across species, different
residence states






Production Methods
Tastes
Perceptions
Species Attributes
Hawaii vs. Kentucky: cultural and geographical
differences in consumer preferences
Objectives


Examine consumer preference toward farm-raised
versus wild caught fish
Evaluate the impact of preference related attributes
across species on consumption decisions and WTP
METHODOLOGY

Consumer surveys



Online
Face-to-face
Consumer preference elicitation method
Attitude and perception questions
 Past consumption history: quantities and price
 Hypothetical consumption questions for moi/tilapia
 Choice experiment (conjoint analysis) on attributes of
species



Tuna, Salmon, Tilapia, Moi
Data analysis
Multivariate regression analysis
 Discrete choice models

SAMPLE CONJOINT CARD
Tuna (Sashimi Grade Steak): Situation 2
• Wild caught
• Previously
frozen
• $25.49/lb
• Farm raised
• Previously
frozen
• Turtle safe
• $19.99/lb
I will not
choose
either A or
B
Option A
Option B
Option C
CONJOINT ANALYSIS: SPECIES AND
ATTRIBUTES

Salmon
Wild Caught/Farm
Raised
 Previously
Frozen/Fresh
 Imported/US Domestic

Wild Caught/Farm
Raised
 P. Frozen/Fresh
 Turtlesafe Logo


Tilapia
Locally Grown
 Veg. Feed/Synthetic
 P. Frozen/Fresh/Live

Tuna


Moi (pacific threadfin)
Locally Grown
 Land-based/Oceanbased/Wild Caught

QUESTIONS
OR
COMMENTS?