Exploring Business Strategy and Assessing the Potential for Sustainable Seafood Products in San Francisco Bay Area Seafood Restaurants

Seafood;Sustainability;Certifications;Restaurants;Natural Resources and Environment

Brookhart, TyHoffman, Andrew ;

University of Michigan

关键词: Seafood;    Sustainability;    Certifications;    Restaurants;    Natural Resources and Environment;   

Others  :  https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/77541/brookhart%20final.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

瑞士|英语

来源: The Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship

【 摘 要 】

The environmental costs associated with seafood production are of major concern.Major capture fisheries have been so depleted that recovery is uncertain. Despite this, seafoodconsumption is increasing. Aquaculture has helped meet this rising demand and is the world’sfastest growing source of food, but it can cause significant environmental harm. Restaurants arethe largest single consumer group of seafood and as such could play an important role inmitigating the environmental problems surrounding seafood production. I investigated seafoodknowledge and current decision strategies regarding use and marketing of seafood within theSan Francisco Bay Area (Bay Area), to determine if awareness of seafood-related issues andintegration of sustainable practices is higher in one of the most progressive and environmentallyconscious cities. I used a combination of surveys and interviews. My goals were to 1) identifyseafood decision-makers at targeted restaurants; 2) determine motivating factors drivingseafood selection and purchasing of decision-makers; 3) characterize the attitudes andawareness of decision-makers about the marine environment; 4) evaluate decision-makerknowledge and sentiment related to seafood certifications; and 5) determine decision-makerwillingness to use sustainable seafood products and to evaluate business strategy regardingseafood.From 31 completed surveys and 11 interviews I found decision-makers purchasedseafood based primarily on quality and taste, while cost, health reasons, and environmentalconsiderations were considered less important. Respondents were significantly better informedabout environmental issues related to salmon farming and commercial fishing than with shrimpfarming. Decision-makers were familiar with seafood certifications and labels to differentextents, depending on the certification. Decision-makers felt positively about includingsustainable products in their businesses and devoted time and energy specifically for integratingsustainable seafood and other products into their businesses. Decision-makers in this study hada good overall understanding of seafood related issues and certifications, though there weregaps in their knowledge, particularly with regards to shrimp farming and to some extentseafood certifications. They also had a greater knowledge of seafood related issues and weremore willing to integrate sustainable seafood into their businesses than those surveyed in thenation-wide survey conducted by Seafood Choices Alliance (SCA 2003). Since the Bay Area isconsidered a culinary trend-setter, these results may be a harbinger of national level trends.