Environmental Concern and Public Attitudes Toward Marine Life in Coastal China

Abstract

ABSTRACT The relationship between people’s concern for the environment and their attitudes toward marine life remains ambiguous, especially in developing countries such as China. This paper reports results from an online survey (n = 500) conducted in 22 Chinese coastal cities regarding the relationship between public attitudes toward marine life and environmental concern, as well as environment-related behavior. The New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) Scale was used to assess respondents’ environmental concern. Attitudes toward marine life protection were measured using a revised version of the Animal Attitude Scale (AAS). Including some questions on demographics and environment-related behaviors and preferences, the survey also aimed to investigate human–marine life interactions in coastal Chinese society. The data revealed that people living in coastal China mostly endorsed a pro-ecological worldview, but they were rather passive in environmental public participation. All five dimensions of environmental concern were positively correlated with marine life attitude and associated with selected AAS content categories (human moral dominance, food, medical research, and hunting/fishing) to varying degrees. Anti-anthropocentrism was found to be the most important dimension of NEP in understanding marine life protection and the use of marine life. It was also discovered that some environment-related behaviors, such as beach visits, NGO membership/donations, and transportation preferences, were predictors of attitudes toward marine life and marine life usage. The findings from this study highlight three significant concepts in shaping public perception of marine life: the recognition of human domination, moderation, and potential environmental risks.