The barriers and drivers of seafood consumption in Australia: A narrative literature review

Abstract

Although seafood is considered to be an important part of a healthy and balanced diet, many Australians still do not consume the recommended amounts for good health. Fish is an excellent source of protein, omega‐3 fatty acids and other nutrients, and studies have shown that seafood‐rich diets can have a lower impact on the environment than diets high in other animal proteins. Concerns about health and sustainability have led to an increased interest in understanding consumers' attitudes toward seafood. This review aims to assess the current knowledge on drivers and barriers to seafood consumption in the Australian context. Systematic search strategies were used to identify relevant peer‐reviewed journal articles from three electronic databases (SCOPUS, Web of Science and Science Direct) and grey literature reports from targeted government and industry websites. Accepted studies investigated drivers and/or barriers to seafood consumption in Australia through qualitative, quantitative, or mixed method designs. Initial searches identified 504 publications from which fourteen met the criteria for the review process. The reviewed studies revealed that influences on seafood consumption in Australia are similar to those identified in other developed countries. The leading drivers of seafood consumption are health, taste, and convenience, while the main barriers are price, availability, concerns about quality, and a lack of confidence in selecting and preparing seafood. Some possible intervention strategies targeted toward these factors are explored in the discussion. Future research should focus on designing and implementing specific interventions so that their effectiveness in increasing seafood consumption in Australia can be assessed.

Rhode Island Branding Program for Local Seafood: Consumer Perceptions, Awareness, and Willingness-to-Pay

“…The nutritional value of seafood alone does not appear to be the only driver to increase consumer seafood consumption. A positive attitude toward the health benefits of seafood has not been found to be a sufficient indicator of intention to eat seafood (Carlucci et al, 2015;Christenson et al, 2017;Thong & Solgaard, 2017). Overall, respondents did not feel very knowledgeable about key seafood attributes.…”

“…However, this may reflect the fact that while consumers may purchase their seafood at a grocery store for convenience, they might think that information may be better at a seafood specialty store. Food choice and purchase decisions have been linked to habitual behavior (Carlucci et al, 2015;Christenson, O'Kane, Farmery, & McManus, 2017;McManus et al, 2014) and are…”

“…A consumer study in Connecticut showed that 24% preferred seafood from Connecticut, whereas almost half of respondents (45%) did not have a preference (Benson, 2018). Other studies have shown that Australian consumers strongly preferred "local" fish to imported products and one of the top reasons for consuming less seafood was the lack of local seafood varieties (Christenson et al, 2017;Daneberg & Mueller, 2011). Overall, 72% of RI consumers were WTP more money to purchase a "local" white fish over a similar, less expensive "non-local" seafood product (Table 9), with females significantly more likely (p<.05) than expected to pay more (data not shown).…”

Shellfish: Nutritive Value, Health Benefits, and Consumer Safety

“…The demand for seafood is rapidly rising all over the world, driven by increases in populations and their rising purchasing power. According to a recent survey, the leading drivers of seafood consumption are nutrition, taste, and convenience, while the main barriers are price, availability, and concern about quality (Christensen and others ). In 2014, an amount of 146.3 MMT of seafood was used as human food, giving a global per capita seafood consumption of 20.1 kg, contributing to about 20% of total average per capita intake of animal protein.…”

Assessing the inclusion of seafood in the sustainable diet literature

“…greatly exceeding the rate of poultry, pork, dairy, beef and grains over the same period (Troell et al, 2014). Global consumption of seafood is approximately 19.2 kg per person, although this amount varies substantially between countries (Smith et al, 2010) and is generally lower than the amount recommended by national dietary guidelines for positive health outcomes (Christenson, O'Kane, Farmery, & McManus, 2017).…”