Heterogeneous Consumer Preference for Seafood Sustainability in Japan

This study estimates Japanese consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for several components of seafood sustainability. A choice experiment via a web survey is conducted among Japanese seafood consumers. In order to estimate WTP, a latent class model is employed to treat heterogeneity of consumer preference in addition to a basic conditional logit model. The latent class model resulted in separating consumers into two characteristic groups: nature-oriented and human-oriented groups. Neither group was found to be willing to pay for seafood sustainability even though they are somewhat concerned about seafood sustainability. Specifically, the nature-oriented group, which comprised 51% of our consumer sample, negatively evaluated fisheries management and preservation of tradition and culture but highly evaluated the environment and ecosystems. Meanwhile, the human-oriented group, which comprised 49% of our consumer sample, positively evaluated fisheries management and regionality, but negatively evaluated the environment and ecosystems. The differences between the groups are unrelated to education or income, but are related to seafood expense, age, family structure, and knowledge of sustainability.