Survey Reveals Seafood Consumers Aren’t Getting the Message
By Veronica Del Bianco
Approximately 71 percent of consumers are still concerned about the safety of consuming Gulf seafood, and 23 percent reported they have reduced their seafood consumption as a result of the oil spill, reports the first round of a new survey studying the impacts the BP oil spill has had on consumer attitude and behavior.
Commissioned by the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board (LSPMB), the three-wave tracking survey analyzes national and regional consumer attitudes toward Gulf seafood and the effectiveness of communication strategies in spreading news about Gulf seafood safety testing.
The report indicates that positive news, such as “closed waters are opened only after adequate testing to ensure seafood safety,” isn’t well disseminated.
“It is the one message that reassures them the most, but it is one message they report hearing less about in the news,” says Dr. R. Wes Harrison, a Louisiana State University professor of agribusiness marketing who is conducting the online survey.
Dr. R. Wes Harrison, Louisiana State University professor of agribusiness marketing.
“That is an interesting result because that is a positive message, and yet consumers are hearing it less than other negative messages.”
Most importantly, consumers report that the information they do receive is sorely lacking — in its amount, its adequacy and, in particular, its credibility. The dominant messages about the Gulf oil spill are negative: the environmental impact, the use of dispersants, and the closure of waters.
As a result, the survey shows, some consumers have turned away from all seafood, not just Gulf seafood.
A second wave of the survey will address issues related to restoring consumer confidence and consumption of seafood from the Gulf.
Harrison acknowledges restoring confidence will be challenging because consumers, particularly those beyond the Gulf states, still have high levels of concern about the safety of Gulf seafood. Providing more adequate and credible information to consumers will be key to the industry’s recovery.
Category: News
