Some Good Reasons for Buying Fish Exclusively From Community-Supported Fisheries: The Case of Yeu Island in France

Abstract

In a Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) or Community-Supported Fishery (CSF), buyers commit to pay a periodic fixed amount to ensure a guaranteed revenue for producers. In return, they benefit from scheduled deliveries but with unknown content. The shorter channels for seafood products are valued by consumers because they often include more sustainable fishing practices and avoid food miles. However, consumers may join these systems for many other reasons linked to lower prices or higher quality of fish, the support to the local economy, and social or political reasons. Who is, if ever existing, the “typical” CSF buyer, and what makes CSFs appealing to fish consumers? With an original survey of 556 French seafood consumers belonging to the Yeu Island CSF, this research aims at disentangling the various motives for joining and purchasing fish exclusively from CSFs. Among a large range of motivations, the analysis reveals the existence of three factors: credence attributes (environment and local support), relational aspects (meet people), and economic incentives. We show through a simultaneous equation model that exclusive CSF consumers are positively influenced by the relational dimension but negatively by credence attributes.