Project 2.3 SEA-INFOCOM

SEAFOOD Information and Communication: Assessment of consumer’s needs for seafood information and development of effective seafood communication

Partners:

12. University of Gent (UGENT), Belgium; 10. The Aarhus school of Business (MAPP), Denmark; 2. Norwegian Institute for Fisheries and Aquaculture (NIFA), Norway

 

The overall objective  of the project is:

- To assess consumer’s needs for seafood information and to develop effective seafood communication related to traceability, health, safety and ethical issues.

 

In many of today’s food markets, consumer decision-making and utility maximisation are hampered because information is imperfect, incomplete, inaccessible, asymmetrically distributed, non-standardised or costly to correct. This potential market failure restricts consumer well-being. It holds specifically in situations where product differentiation is relatively low and mainly based on so-called credence characteristics, like healthiness, safety or ethical values. These areas are highly relevant in the case of seafood, though remain largely un-investigated.

The research within the project is described in four major blocks of activities, with methods and measurement tools being set up during the first 18-month period of the project. The four blocks pertain to traceability information, role and impact of health and nutrition claims, seafood risk communication and ethical product information. The areas will be covered through innovative research methods including message testing and experimental survey designs. 

 

Read about this and the other projects in RTD Pillar 2 Seafood and Consumer Behaviour in the Eurofish magazine article

 

What influences seafood consumption?

 

Involvement of partners:

12.UGENT leads the project in close collaboration with 10.MAPP and 2.NIFA, specifically with respect to theoretical and methodological issues. Links will be made to other Pillars with regard to ethical product information and traceability information research, respectively. Results will be communicated to the SEAFOODplus SME partners, to the community and to the broader public through seminars, conferences, scientific reports and articles.

 

Major research achievements

The major research achievements are described in the following subpages for each project year:

 

2004            2005           2006          2007        2008 

 

Projectleader SEA-INFOCOM

Prof. Wim Verbeke

UGent, Belgium