European at-home fish consumption is increasing with 72 percent of people eating fishery or aquaculture products once a month and 42 percent consuming seafood once a week, finds a new survey on EU consumer choices.
Conducted by Eurobarometer at the request of the European Commission (EC) Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE), the study establishes that people in the EU eat seafood quite regularly, although how far people live from the sea does play a role in how often they eat fish. There is also a strong preference for products with regional, national and European origin.
In Eurobarometer’s survey, 60 percent consumers indicated they like to try new products and species, and 64 percent of those who buy or eat seafood will try new products or species at home. Fifty-six percent also try new products when there is a promotional event or at a restaurant.
Some 68 percent of the 27,818 EU consumers surveyed also indicated that they would eat more fish if the prices were lower. Indeed the two main drivers when buying seafood were the product’s appearance (58 percent) and the cost of the product (55 percent). The origin of the product was the third most frequently mentioned aspect by 42 percent of those consumers surveyed.
Just over a third of Europeans who buy or eat seafood said they preferred wild-caught products. However, 31 percent said they had no preference for either wild or farmed, while 8 percent said they preferred farmed products.
According to the study’s country analysis, in 27 of the EU’s 28 member states, the majority of respondents eat seafood at home at least once a month. The countries with the highest proportions of citizens following this consumption pattern were Spain (92 percent), Sweden (90 percent) and Denmark (86 percent). By contrast, just 25 percent of respondents in Hungary eat seafood at home at least once a month, followed by Slovakians with 50 percent and Austrians with 51 percent.
But more than one in 10 consumers in 15 member states never eat fishery or aquaculture products at home. The countries with the highest proportions of respondents who never eat these products at home included Hungary (42 percent), Austria (30 percent) and Ireland (22 percent).
Respondents were also asked about their consumption of fishery or aquaculture products at restaurants and other food outlets, with 34 percent saying they eat seafood when eating out at least once a month and 11 percent saying they eat it at least once a week. Some 31 percent said they “never” eat seafood out-of-home.
At a country level, 24 of the 28 member states eat seafood at least once a month or several times a year in restaurants or other food outlets. Respondents in Luxembourg (52 percent), Sweden (50 percent), Malta and the United Kingdom (both 49 percent) were more likely to say they eat these products at least once a month in comparison with consumers in Hungary (8 percent), Greece (17 percent) and the Czech Republic (19 percent).
The most common reasons for buying and/or eating seafood products among the respondents were because “they are healthy” (74 percent) and “they taste good” (58 percent). Three in ten consumers said they bought or ate fishery and aquaculture products because “they contain little fat,” and less than one in five said their reasons for buying or eating these products were because “they are easy to digest,” “easy to prepare” and “quick to prepare.”
Karmenu Vella, EU Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, said he believes the investigation’s findings underline the need to ensure a sustainable supply of fish to the market.
"This survey helps us see how Europeans choose their seafood. This helps inform our policies. We must make sure that consumers continue to have a wide range of high quality seafood to choose from. That is why we are determined to reach targets on sustainable fishing by 2020,” he said.
According to the Commission, EU households spent EUR 54 billion (USD 57.3 billion) on seafood in 2015, while per capita consumption at 25.5kg is catching up with its 2008 pre-economic crisis level of 26 kg.
