Small-Scale Coastal Fisheries in the Midst of Adaptation and Diversification: Insights from Southern Italy

Abstract

The study looks at the problems facing coastal fishing communities. It highlights the impacts that, in the complex framework of the EU reforms, have manifested themselves on economic activities and on society. The aim of the paper is twofold: to examine small-scale artisanal fishing in an area of Southern Italy in order to develop resilience and diversification and at the same time to outline the profiles of local bluefish buyers to highlight development strategies for the sector. The research carried out through a direct survey by administering a questionnaire to fishermen operating in areas of Southern Italy and the data cross-referenced with the opinions of local consumers. A conjoint experiment, followed by a multiple correspondence analysis and cluster identification, was used to outline the profiles of local bluefish buyers. The results of the analysis reveal that the fish market and the restaurant sector are the main distribution channels preferred by fishermen. Furthermore, fishermen are very sensitive to environmental issues and are willing to collaborate and actively participate in the environmental protection of the sea. Consumers recognise the quality of local bluefish, and they implicitly perceive the sustainability of the method of capture. The results show the need to undertake synergistic actions for the fishing industry, capable of activating marketing strategies adequately to support, promote and develop the sector. The results of the study provide helpful information for food companies in order to better segment their market and target their consumers, as well as to effectively promote their product using brands, certifications and traceability.

Who Becomes a Fisherman? A Two-Stage Sample Selection Analysis on Small-Scale Fishery Choice and Income in Korea

“…The current fishery environment is different from that in 1970, when the population of marine fisheries accounted for 3.7% of the total population. Recently, the stability of participating in fishing activities and generating income has been lower than in the past due to restrictions on entry into fishing village fraternities, reductions of marine resources, regulations on the use of fishing grounds, policies to reduce fishing vessels, climate change, and a low preference for labor-intensive industries [3,31,57,58]. In general, small-scale fishing as a profession seems to be recognized as a field of limited economic attractiveness given the associated constraints [59].…”

Market-oriented product development of novel sustainably sourced seafood product concepts: consumers' preferences for a different kettle of fish cake

“…Price-wise, Cluster 2 was the most price sensitive and preferred low price, which could be related to its socio-demographic characteristics and concerns about the cost of food and feeding a family. Overall, seafood marketing strategies need to take into account the influence of multiple attributes on consumer food choices and generate consumer insight information to better segment their markets and target consumers (Nicolosi et al. , 2021; Brayden et al.…”

“…Sigurdsson et al (2020) investigated how signalling affects consumer choices in fresh fish purchase in choice-based conjoint analysis where country of origin, procurement method, purchase state, delivery time, product rating, item signage and price were selected as attributes. Nicolosi et al (2021) focussed on understanding the profiles of local bluefish buyers and utilised the type of fish caught, place of purchase, sustainability of the capture method and prise as product attributes.…”

“…Price-wise, Cluster 2 was the most price sensitive and preferred low price, which could be related to its socio-demographic characteristics and concerns about the cost of food and feeding a family. Overall, seafood marketing strategies need to take into account the influence of multiple attributes on consumer food choices and generate consumer insight information to better segment their markets and target consumers (Nicolosi et al, 2021;Brayden et al, 2018). The study limitations relate to the limited sample size recruited for the conjoint analysis as a larger sample size may give more comprehensive evidence for the findings and better capture differences between the clusters, as well as a bigger proportion of female participants (however, the focus groups were balanced).…”