Research report on organic aquaculture and consumer perception – Focus group surveys in Münster, Germany - PART II

Surveys performed among consumers showed that the knowledge about sustainability and organic fish is relatively fragmentary; e.g. stories from the media detached from the context “overfishing”, not healthy fish farmed in Asia etc. Very few was able to identify specific rules for organic fish, and often they were mixed up with the MSC certification. Most part of the Danish organic fish production is currently exported to Germany and due to this the research project RobustFish has investigated the perception of organic fish among German consumers. In cooperation with Fachhochschule Münster Aalborg University has made a survey among German consumers on how they perceive organic fish. The investigations showed that the perception of organic fish is influenced by their general perception of farmed fish and their perception of agricultural production. Many consumers have a negative perception of farmed fish and rank the production alongside the industrialized agriculture – often contradicting the catch of vild fish in the sea. Specific for Germany is the existence of regional and local certified products, e.g. Naturland, Bioland, Demeter mm. These conditions are significant to the general perception of organic products among German consumers. Generally, the participants of the surveys had a positive perception of the food production in Denmark as regards sustainability and ethics. Hence, the consumers express expectations, that the standards in Denmark are high compared to e.g. Germany. In particular, consumers expressed personal experiences of a high gastronomic leveI in Denmark