Vaccination and consumer perception of seafood quality

Unlike other segments of international food production, finfish aquaculture has so far not been associated with major food scandals. However, because of increased focus on food safety, the seafood industry and associated businesses have to respond to and document all aspects related to their products and processes. Consumers have a right to know, and need knowledge and information to be able to make qualified choices. In aquaculture good management and environmental attention is essential for both product quality and economic sustainability. One of the main challenges in all farming activities is efficient fish health management, which is crucial for maintaining and further developing the industry. In all biological production, and also in aquaculture, diseases have been, are, and will continue to present a challenge. When dealing with disease incidents, environmental, ethical, biological and economic issues must be taken into account. In animal health management there is a common understanding that prevention is better than treatment, so also in aquaculture. In many segments of industrial fish farming, vaccines have proved a good management tool to control diseases and to reduce both mortality and the use of chemotherapeutics. As seen in a recent Norwegian consumer survey, this might unfortunately look somewhat different from a consumer point of view. The perception of vaccines as foreign substances, visible vaccine lesions or pigment, words about genetically produced vaccines, and a general lack of knowledge may fuel scepticism. Even when experts are giving good and well-documented information, consumers still stick to their original perception of food, including seafood. Given this background, this papers discusses the aquaculture industry's priorities regarding vaccines and vaccination strategies, and its information policy towards the customer.