Public attitudes towards the environmental impact of salmon aquaculture in Scotland

Abstract

AbstractThis paper reports the results of a survey of public attitudes towards aquaculture, using salmon farming in Scotland as a case study. The aims have been to identify the priority that people attach to the environmental performance of the salmon aquaculture industry, relative to other objectives, and to measure the economic benefits to society from salmon farmed using methods that cause less organic pollution. The results indicate that the public attach a relatively high importance to minimizing environmental damage from aquaculture, and this has its parallel in the finding that people are willing to pay a price premium for salmon produced in a more environmentally benign way. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.