Consumer choices for quality and sustainability labelled seafood products in the UK

There has been a growing interest in recent years in the potential use of product differentiation in seafood products (mainly through eco-type labelling), as a means of promoting and rewarding the sustainable management and exploitation of fish stocks. The potential encapsulated by product differentiation has, however, yet to be tested in the market place within many countries, including the UK. This paper draws on a study exploring the nature and extent of the response of UK consumers to the introduction of labelled seafood products and explores the potential of product differentiation to promote sustainable fisheries. From the results presented in this paper, the scale of the effect has been shown to be greater for sustainability and quality forms of product differentiation than the effect generated by any of the other potential labels. The origin and mode of production also generated sizeable and significant effects. These results suggest that moves underway to implement certification schemes can be justified in support of sustainable fisheries management. The important policy implication is that improvement in the supply-side management of fisheries will be needed to facilitate more widespread adaptation of certification schemes. Nonetheless, the opportunities for higher premiums and greater market share due to certification will provide additional incentives for the required management improvements.