Drivers of Seafood Consumption at Different Geographical Scales

Abstract

As an important source of essential amino acids and micronutrients, fish is critical in the fight against malnutrition, especially in low income and food deficient countries. However, because fish consumption is reportedly linked to overfishing and the generation of negative environmental consequences from fish farming. There have been calls to reduce fish consumption, which may have implications for fish intake and the drive to reduce childhood malnutrition in many developing countries. Here we assess the role of urbanization, income, fish prices, preferences, nutritional knowledge, and cultural attitudes in fish demand. We conducted analysis using the fixed effect model at three geographical scales: global—151 countries drawn from all continents that consume over 90% of global seafood supply; at the continental; and at the national scales, where we assessed seafood consumption in Nigeria, Portugal, Bangladesh and the United States. Our results suggest that at the global level, a 10% increase in disposable income leads to a 5% increase in fish consumption, although a 10% increase in domestic fish price leads to 8% decrease in fish consumption. In our continental level analysis, we found distinct drivers of seafood consumption across continents, for example, urbanization drives fish consumption in Africa, while domestic fish prices influence fish consumption in South America and Oceania regions. The estimates of the current study are broadly consistent with other earlier studies, showing a uniformly income-driven demand for seafood. World population is often presented as a key driver for the growth in seafood demand. A subtle driver for fish (and other animal source food) consumption is income. At the national level, the case studies highlight that qualitative variable such as preferences, nutritional knowledge, and cultural attitudes across countries are also important drivers for fish consumption. However, we suggest that future study could endeavor to assess how income and fish price influence peoples’ consumption of specific fish species.