This news article was originally written in Spanish. It has been automatically translated for your convenience. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace a human translator. The original article in Spanish can be viewed at El país de origen, uno de los factores más relevantes para los consumidores de pescado españoles

The consumers award a relative importance of 42,96% to the country of origin of the fish

The country of origin, one of the most notable factors for the consumers of Spanish fish

David Pozo25/01/2013

In what fixed more the Spanish consumer to the hour to buy a fish: in his price, the country of origin, if it is cool or frozen products, or if it is wild or of crianza? The half consumer Spanish prefers, especially, that proceed of his country, according to a study realised by the Irta and published by the magazine Food Quality and Preference. Spain is the producing elder of fish of the European Union, but in the last years his internal consumption has reduced , especially the one of the seafood.

Prior to this study, which featured a sample of 900 consumers, several focus groups were conducted in the autonomous communities (Andalucía, Asturias, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Cantabria, Cataluña, Galicia, Madrid and Murcia) in order to investigate what were the most relevant aspects for consumers when selecting fish. The participants claimed to take into account factors related to the quality and safety of the fish as they would be its appearance or the recommendations of the fishmonger. However, due to the difficulty of including these aspects in the joint analysis of the factors that were taken into account were the country of origin (Spain, Morocco, Norway), the method of obtaining (extractive fishing, aquaculture), the method of conservation (fresh, frozen) and price (6/kg, 12/kg, 18/kg).

The results reveal that, between the factors studied, the place of origin –Spain, in this case– is the factor that more value the buyers to the hour to choose the fish. The statistical analyses signal that the relative importance of the country of origin is of 42,96%, whereas the others three variables suppose less than the half: 20,58% the conditions of storage, 19,13% the price and 18,01% the method of obtaining.

“The fact to having chosen Spain, Morocco and Norway, countries with a very different image, can have influenced definitely the results. In this sense, Spain is a country in which the sector pesquero possesses a deeply rooted tradition. The supply of cool fish, almost daily, to the points of sale and the confidence and quality that the freshness of these products confers to the consumers could explain the preference generalised by the autochthonous fish. Other appearances that can favour the preference by the autochthonous fish could relate with the paper that plays the sector pesquero in the generation of employment and in the local development. With regard to the others two countries of origin studied observed that the pertinent fish of countries more developed is used to to transmit a greater image of hygiene and control to the consumer”, affirms Anna Claret, one of the coautoras of the work.

Anna Claret, researcher of the Irta, and one of the coautoras of the work.

The study also reflects the existence of 5 segments of consumers with profiles differentiated. “It is important to stand out that although it was not possible to define them in base to his demographic characteristics himself observed some differences between CC AA, being Balearic and Cantabria the communities that greater importance awarded to the country of origin and Canaries the one who less. Likewise, Canaries and Balearic were the communities that gave greater and lower importance respectively to the method of obtaining. Regarding gender did not observe important differences between men and women. Probably other appearances like the objective knowledge and the beliefs on fish have a greater effect on the perception and the preferences of the consumers that the variable demographic partner”, adds the researcher of the Irta.

The wild fish by in front of the of piscifactoría

Anna Claret also stands out the fact that the majority of the respondents decant by the wild fish in place of the of crianza: “The information plays a key paper in the acceptance of any product and, of course, also of the fish of crianza. Although the child of animals is very accepted in terrestrial animals does not occur the same in the aquatic animals. The acceptance of pertinent products of the aquaculture manages without doubt for offering to the greater consumer information on the conditions in that crían the fishes, the feeding that receive and the quality of his products (nutritional properties, sanitary ware controls, animal welfare, etc.). In this sense, the study llevar concludes that it is necessary to design effective strategies of information directed to the public in general that they improve the consumption of fish of crianza and that reduce of this form the impact that some practices of unsustainable fishing possess on the natural marine resources”.

And it adds in this regard: “According to the Real Royal decree 121/2004, of 23 January 2004, on the identification of the products of the fishing, of the aquaculture and of the marisqueo the labels in the points of sale of the cool products without packing have to contain like minimum the following information: name of the species, method of obtaining, zone of child or of capture, way of presentation and/or treatment and the identification of the first centre of expedition. Obviously, although the Royal decree does not include the price, this also is a factor of particular importance from the perspective of the consumer. In any case, yes it is true that, such as they aim some studies, have observed some lacks in the labeling of products pesqueros in the points of sale what neither contributes to inform properly to the consumers”.

In our surroundings have done studies that, according to the researcher, launch similar results. “They exist studies, although with a different approach, in countries so much community, as extra-community. These indicate also a greater preference by the cool fish, autochthonous and wild. The effect of the price, in these more concrete studies, has a lot that see with the concrete species of which treat . Some of these works centre , as it is the case of part of the project funded by the Jacumar 'Characterisation of the quality of the fish of crianza', in which it freamers our study, in determining the perception that has the consumer on the products of the aquaculture in relation to the products of fishing extractiva”, aims.

Less fish and more expensive

The data of Ministry of Agriculture, Feeding and Environingingment like this confirm it. The consumption of fish in Spain went down of the 1.254 million kilograms in 2010 to the 1.230,2 in 2011, a descent of 1,9%. They fall, especially, the seafoods (4,3%) and only observes growth in the purchase of preserves (1,8%).

However, the Spanish homes spent 9.001,4 million euros in products pesqueros during 2011 in front of the 8.750,4 millions of the previous year. The profile of the half buyer is a person of more than 50 years, of class accommodated and with average or greater children, or couples without children or jubilados. Although they do not consummate a lot of fish, the independent youngsters are those that more have increased the acquisition of this food, with a growth of 6,6% between October of 2011 and 2012.

By autonomous communities, the greater consumers of products of the fishing during this period have been Castile and Leon, Galicia and Cantabria, and those that less, Extremadura and, curiously, the two archipelagos: Balearic and Canaries.