Dr Sue Hornibrook is a member of the Centre for Value Chain Research at Kent Business School. She is a Lecturer in Strategic Management; and Corporate Responsibility, and is Head of Student Placements. She comments on the following BBC news item:
“So, exactly what is the answer to the question? Why do we export the majority of fish caught by British fishermen, and import cod and haddock from hundreds of miles away? And what are the implications?
Globally, one-third of the world’s fish stocks are overexploited, depleted or recovering from depletion, with over a half fully-exploited (FAO 2010), yet global demand for seafood is growing and shows no signs of abating. In addition, there are hidden environmental, economic and societal costs associated with large scale trading of fish species between countries. As the article notes, UK consumers traditionally choose cod and haddock, although they are increasingly favouring wild-caught species such as tuna, and farmed products, eg salmon and prawns. However, these all have to be imported, and there is little domestic demand for native fish species such as mackerel or pollack.
If UK consumers made different and more sustainable choices, they could influence the value chain and make a significant contribution to the UK economy and the marine environment. The key to changing long-standing, culturally-rooted behaviour is to understand what motivates consumer behaviour, and then to design interventions that meet consumer needs. However, developing strategies to change food consumption behaviour is complex and involves a range of factors including individual, situational and informational issues. In addition, most research to date on sustainable consumption has used behavioural intention or self reported behaviour, rather than measuring actual purchasing behaviour.
In order to understand the barriers to the greater consumption of locally-landed seafood, we need to explore the whole value chain, and take a cross-disciplinary approach. As such, we are working with the Durrell Institute for Conservation and Ecology at the University of Kent, industry partners and local communities to identify location-specific interventions and to measure actual changes in consumer behaviour.
If we can encourage a change to more sustainable consumption behaviour, then we may have contributed towards one of the most pressing environmental and economic/food security challenges facing the global community.
For further information, please contact Sarah Tetley, Kent Business School s.r.tetley@kent.ac.uk