Abstract

Seafood marketing studies are common to assess the preferences and opinions of potential consumers, especially for new products. Usually those studies focus on the characteristics of the fish, or even how and where it was harvested and handled. Such studies seek to determine if consumers will pay more or eat more if products can be guaranteed to be safe, fresh, correctly labeled, larger, or harvested in a new or more sustainable manner (e.g., aquaculture). For the invasive lionfish, one source of control would be to foster targeting of fishing effort toward lionfish. Such a strategy would, however, only be successful if there was sufficient demand for the new seafood product. This study sought to fill a gap in the analysis of potentially sustainable solutions to controlling invasive lionfish by surveying potential consumers about their preferences for adding the species to their portfolio of seafood choices. Only by fostering the demand for lionfish by consumer can a commercial fishery for lionfish be developed. This study is complemented by one that sought the preferences of fisherman in order to compare the potential supply with demand to assess the viability of a new commercial fishery in the USVI. We present an analysis of the potential demand for lionfish as food from spatial, qualitative, and quantitative perspectives. This includes analyses of both local consumers’ and tourists’ willingness to try and willingness to pay for lionfish, mapping of interest in lionfish, and analyzing the cultural barriers to lionfish consumption (including concerns about ciguatera toxin). Outreach efforts to address these barriers are also briefly discussed This is the second of two proposed presentations reporting on the findings and outcomes of two-year NOAA-funded project to assess the viability of a lionfish market in St. Croix

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