Consumers’ readiness to adapt to climate change impacts in seafood systems

Food from the sea can potentially provide a large share of the global future food demand, providing that seafood systems are sustainable and equitable. Climate change is one of the key drivers threatening the future of fish for nutrition and livelihoods, questioning the sustainability of current seafood systems and requiring adaptation and transformation action. Current discussions over the sustainability and resilience of seafood systems are often skewed towards the production side (i.e. fishers, catches). However, filling nutritional gaps and achieving food security for all requires broadening the approach and including the rest of the seafood supply chain actors, from producers to consumers. The transformation of the seafood system requires the adaptation of consumers, which may be largely constrained by current perceptions of risk, consumption habits and willingness to change. 

 

In this work we focus on the consumer side of the seafood system challenge by exploring the risk of the consumer’s seafood basket. The overall aim is to explore adaptation responses in terms of consumption choices of small-scale fisheries production, and assess whether these responses are resilient to climate change. To do this we develop a social survey approach to gather information from Galician consumers (Northwest Spain), a region that is highly reliant on seafood for nutrition and livelihoods. An online survey instrument has been directed at a social panel to collect 1) consumption habits; 2) climate change perceptions and 3) preferences towards adaptation outcomes. Consumption habits refer to the diversity, frequency and preference for fish and shellfish species consumed. Climate change perceptions measure the awareness of consumers to the impacts of climate change and the fishing sector. Adaptation options include the distribution of climate change impacts across genders, the focus on shellfish or finfish, and the importance of traditional markets. A sample of 600 consumers is analyzed to explore consumer adaptation responses through cluster analysis and regression models. We find a set of socioeconomic profiles that explain consumer’s estated behavior, however in general responses show a preference for equitable gender impact burden, and equitable adaptation across finfish and shellfish. THis study provides empirical evidence on the preparedness of consumers to climate change adaptation needs in consumption patterns, contributing to the debate over the best adaptation and transformation strategies for the future of seafood systems elsewhere.