Market and social sustainability of aquaculture: Communities’ and consumers’ perceptions of the farmed seafood industry

Benefits from aquaculture for livelihood of producers and global food security are well documented, however, concerns from potential impacts on the environment and human health can put this industry under threat. This proposal aims at understanding the process underlying the formation of individuals’ perceptions and preferences of farmed seafood. We also investigate whether people’ judgements are more stringent when the specie is produced locally or abroad, and if so, which domains are more likely to drive these differences. Our empirical analysis focuses on the interplay among two aquaculture leading producer countries (i.e., Chile and Vietnam), and an important destination market (i.e., China). Collection of primary data in these countries would allow not only to understand the main drivers of people’s perceptions, but also consumers’ preferences over different attributes of farmed species, and to which extent these preferences respond to a set of primers. Results are expected to generate insights needed for the design of information schemes and interventions aimed at correcting potential existing misperceptions.