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Updated: Jul 9, 2026

A Standardized Protocol for Preference Testing to Assess Fish Welfare
Published on: February 22, 2020
Perceived importance of sustainability and ethics related to fish: a consumer behavior perspective
Wim Verbeke1, Filiep Vanhonacker, Isabelle Sioen
1Department of Agricultural Economics, Ghent University, Belgium. Wim.Verbeke@UGent.be
Abstract:
Although sustainability and ethics are of increasing public importance, little research has been conducted to reveal its association with fish consumer behavior. Cross-sectional data were collected through a postal self-administered survey (June 2005) from a sample of 381 Flemish women aged 20-50 years. Consumers attach high perceived importance to sustainability and ethics related to fish. However, this perceived importance is neither correlated with fish consumption frequency nor with general attitude toward eating fish. Refusing to eat wild fish is grounded in sustainability and ethical concerns, whereas the decision not to eat farmed fish is associated with a lower expected intrinsic quality rather than shaped by importance attached to sustainability and ethical issues.
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