The Seafood Basket: Application of Zero-Inflated Model to Fish Count Purchase

The study analyzed demand for fish in the United States by the number of species purchased from a basket of species, rather than the usual approach focusing on one single species. The basket includes largemouth bass, hybrid striped bass, bluegill, walleye, yellow perch, rainbow trout, Great Lakes whitefish, lake trout, barramundi, and tilapia. These results largely confirm that consumers purchase different fish species or a combination of them from time to time and that consumers pay little attention to green factors such as sustainability, 3rd party certification and hormone-free when purchasing seafood. It appears that the effects of green credence attributes may not apply generically to a collection of fish or that the utility of green characteristics to seafood demand may be declining. As for production systems, although a higher percentage of consumers indicated preference for wild-caught fish, the importance of farmed fish to them was found to increase fish purchased.