Social Acceptance of Aquaculture in Spain: An Instrument to Achieve Sustainability for Society

Aquaculture is a technique to produce food that is under debate, due to its possible consequences for altering the economy, traditional fishing included, or the environment, even with doubts about the health of consumers. This document studies its social acceptance from the point of view of carrying...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of environmental research and public health 2020-09, Vol.17 (18), p.6628
Main Authors: Ruiz-Chico, José, Biedma-Ferrer, José M, Peña-Sánchez, Antonio R, Jiménez-García, Mercedes
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abuse
Aquaculture
Carrying capacity
Conservation of Natural Resources
Consumers
Consumption
Employment
Environmental economics
Environmental impact
Female
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
Humans
Male
Psychological Distance
Questionnaires
Seafood
Society
Spain
Sustainability
Tourism
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Summary:Aquaculture is a technique to produce food that is under debate, due to its possible consequences for altering the economy, traditional fishing included, or the environment, even with doubts about the health of consumers. This document studies its social acceptance from the point of view of carrying capacity. This term is defined as the level at which this activity begins to be disproportionate and poses important disadvantages for society. In this context, we conducted 803 surveys in six coastal provinces in Spain. The results show that the acceptance of these products is good, implying that aquaculture is far from reaching its saturation point in society. Additionally, the respondents gave a higher priority to socio-economic objectives than to environmental ones. We can conclude that the further development of this sector is advisable in these provinces. The general perception of aquaculture is better among men, and also among higher-income consumers. Informative activities should be organized to target these more hesitant groups. Production structures should be revised to overcome biases in the population about the idea that the food obtained from aquaculture harms the environment or is less natural or healthy. The possible abuse of feed and chemicals spreads this idea, and this could affect the taste and quality adversely.
ISSN:1660-4601
1661-7827
1660-4601
DOI:10.3390/ijerph17186628