TY - JOUR
T1 - U.S. consumer valuation of key product attributes in salmon, shrimp, and oysters
T2 - Insights from discrete choice experiments
AU - Errickson, Lauren B.
AU - Jin, Yanhong
AU - Zemeckis, Douglas
AU - Hallman, William K.
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2025 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2025
Y1 - 2025
N2 - The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) highlight insufficient seafood consumption among U.S. adults and emphasize the need for increased intake to improve public health. However, wild-caught stocks face ecological and supply constraints, positioning aquaculture as a vital alternative to meet growing demand—provided farm-raised products align with consumer preferences for price, taste, convenience, health, and sustainability. Using discrete choice experiments (DCEs) with a nationally representative sample of 1,200 U.S. adults, this study estimates consumer preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for key attributes of salmon, shrimp, and oysters. The results show that U.S. consumers strongly prefer domestically produced seafood across all three categories. Health-related attributes, such as mercury-free and antibiotic-free, are prioritized over harvest methods (wild-caught vs. farm-raised). While sustainability remains important, the value of sustainability labels or third-party certification varies by product category. Similarly, although consumers express preferences for nutrition labels, the importance of these attributes differs by seafood category. These findings suggest that the U.S. aquaculture sector can expand its market share by emphasizing domestic production and aligning product labeling with consumer preferences. Improving the visibility of these attributes in the marketplace may increase seafood consumption, supporting public health objectives and strengthening the domestic seafood industry.
AB - The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) highlight insufficient seafood consumption among U.S. adults and emphasize the need for increased intake to improve public health. However, wild-caught stocks face ecological and supply constraints, positioning aquaculture as a vital alternative to meet growing demand—provided farm-raised products align with consumer preferences for price, taste, convenience, health, and sustainability. Using discrete choice experiments (DCEs) with a nationally representative sample of 1,200 U.S. adults, this study estimates consumer preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for key attributes of salmon, shrimp, and oysters. The results show that U.S. consumers strongly prefer domestically produced seafood across all three categories. Health-related attributes, such as mercury-free and antibiotic-free, are prioritized over harvest methods (wild-caught vs. farm-raised). While sustainability remains important, the value of sustainability labels or third-party certification varies by product category. Similarly, although consumers express preferences for nutrition labels, the importance of these attributes differs by seafood category. These findings suggest that the U.S. aquaculture sector can expand its market share by emphasizing domestic production and aligning product labeling with consumer preferences. Improving the visibility of these attributes in the marketplace may increase seafood consumption, supporting public health objectives and strengthening the domestic seafood industry.
KW - attributes
KW - Consumer preference
KW - discrete choice modeling
KW - seafood
KW - willingness to pay
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105024962275
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105024962275#tab=citedBy
U2 - 10.1080/13657305.2025.2589738
DO - 10.1080/13657305.2025.2589738
M3 - Article
SN - 1365-7305
JO - Aquaculture Economics and Management
JF - Aquaculture Economics and Management
ER -