Assessing High School Student's Perceptions and Knowledge of
Aquaculture vs. Wild-caught Seafood: The case of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi
Authors Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management (NREM)
Leiana Opunui - University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, NREM Graduate Student College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR)
Dr. Catherine Chan - University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, NREM professor
Dr. Cheng-Sheng Lee - executive director at CTSA
Dr. Patricia LaPorte - University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Shidler College of Business lecturer The authors would like to acknowledge the Department of Commerce for their funding and support.
1. Introduction
The FAO estimates that approximately 3.3 billion people
worldwide depend on fish for 20% of their animal
protein intake in 2020 (FAO, 2020). Per capita fish
consumption rose from 9.0 kg in 1961 to 20.3 kg in 2017,
over 1,000% increase (FAO, 2020). Seafood consumption
in Hawaii is three times higher than the national average
per capita (Davidson et al., 2012). These trends have
shown that the growing demands of seafood have
surpassed the sustainable yield of the oceans resources
(Tidwell et al., 2001). In response, aquaculture
production has become an alternative source of meeting
these growing demands (Tidwell et al., 2001).
4. Materials and Methods
We conducted a survey to assess current perceptions of wild-caught and aquaculture seafood preferences in high
school students.
School selection was based on high schools (grades 9 to 12) with different demographics to represent the diverse
socio-economic backgrounds of student families and communities throughout Oahu, Hawaii.
Using the information from the survey, we quantified the results in a Fuzzy-logic Cognitive Map (FCM) to draw
conclusions about the factors influencing consumption preference.
An FCM is a mental model that draws relationships between variables by connecting concepts in a direct linkage.
The FCM was also used to simulate how aquaculture education would impact the respondents preferences via four
scenarios.
6. Conclusion
Data collection on socio-demographics, knowledge, individual and family seafood consumption patterns, and seafood
preferences provide information to understand how these variables are linked and affect one another. This allows us to
tailor specific educational strategies to target knowledge gaps and misconceptions surrounding aquaculture. Our results
indicate that the greatest factors influencing consumer's preference for wild-caught seafood is taste and for aquaculture
seafood is environmental impact. The results also indicate that the respondents are aware of the potential environmental
benefits of aquaculture as compared to wild–caught seafood. However, there are still other factors limiting their
consumption preferences.
7. Implications
Identifying the factors that have the strongest influence on a student’s preference can be useful to schools in designing a
curriculum to reach a broad set of consumers. The implications of this study assert that education and outreach are needed
to promote consumer acceptance of aquaculture.
8. Recommendations
Furthermore, the potential impacts from this research extend beyond aquaculture. There is great potential to stimulate
students’ interest and knowledge in science, as well as facilitate wholesome educational family activities. To secure the
future of sustainable seafood in the United States, we must first invest in education -- which begins with teachers and
students and trickles down to the larger community -- to share information and resources about aquaculture, and improve
community support for local farming efforts. Ultimately, fundamental changes on the way we produce, access, and
consume seafood need to be made to maintain sustainable seafood yields and effective fisheries management.
Affiliations
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture (CTSA)
2. Problem 3. Objectives
Lack of sustainable seafood supply Primary Objective: Increase consumer consumption and acceptance of aquaculture seafood in Hawaiʻi.
Negative stigma's surrounding aquaculture
Lack of knowledge on aquaculture
Sub-objectives:
Lack of policies ensuring sustainable fisheries
1. Discover the perceptions of major factors determining their consumption of wild-caught vs. aquaculture
produced seafood.
2. Simulate the impact of education on changes in perception.
3. Make recommendations on education modules based on survey results on their misguided (misinformed)
perceptions regarding aquaculture.
5. Results
The results from the Fuzzy-logic Cognitive Map (Fig. 1) confirm the degree of A key assumption from our study is that adolescents can influence the perception of the whole family and drive their
understanding or misunderstanding of relationships that drive consumption purchase preferences.
preferences and household purchases. Overall, the respondents do not display
a strong preference between aquaculture and wild-caught seafood based on
taste, environmental impact, health, and what they eat at home. In
comparison, respondents had a slightly higher preference for wild-caught
seafood based on taste, health, and what they eat at home. Environmental
impact was the only variable where respondents preferred aquaculture seafood
over wild-caught seafood.Out of our sample size, there were nine respondents
that claimed they asked their parents to purchase a particular seafood.
The “What if” scenarios (Fig. 2) provided from the Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping
approach emulate the likely outcomes of implementing effective educational
policies. Overall, scenario 1 produced the highest impact on preference for
aquaculture seafood as compared to all other scenarios. Scenario 3 produced
the second highest impact on preference for aquaculture seafood. Scenario 5
produced the lowest impact on preference for aquaculture seafood, as only
some of the students prefer aquaculture based on two factors. These results
are in line with the survey results because taste and health had the lowest
influence on preference towards aquaculture. Therefore, education and Figure 1. Fuzzy Cognitive Map results representing the relationships between the
outreach activities that focus on all four factors will have the greatest impact. students' preferences based on taste, environmental impact, health concerns, and what
In areas where resources are limited, education should focus on the they eat at home and how their preferences influence their family members' purchase
environmental and health benefits of aquaculture to maximize educational decisions.
efforts.
9. References
1. Davidson, K., Pan, M., Hu, W.,
& Poerwanto, D. (2012).
Consumers' willingness to pay
for aquaculture fish products
vs. wild-caught seafood – a
case study in Hawaii.
Aquaculture Economics &
Management, 16(2), 136–154.
https://doi.org/10.1080/1365730
5.2012.678554
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