Exploring the Links Between Preference and Fish Consumption: Acase of Post-Graduate Students of Fisheries Science

Objectives: This paper aims to bring out the causal relationship between fish preferences and its consumption pattern among the fisheries science postgraduate students who migrated from a different part of India for higher educations in the Institute of ICAR-CIFE at Mumbai. It also studied the primary factors which are responsible for the fish consumption and also addressed the number of ways that may bring awareness among the consumers to increase the fish consumption in their locality.

Methods/Statistical analysis: The samples for the study were collected randomly with the help of random tables; a total of 30 postgraduate respondents was collected at ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Education placed in Mumbai. Descriptive statistics viz., frequency and percentage analysis were used for the analysis. The responses are represented graphically as well as in tables for the better understanding. The rank-basedquotient (RBQ) was used to rank consumer preferences regarding different forms and the primary factors which are responsible for the selection of most preferred fish species.

Findings: The findings of the study depicted that maximum respondents were from Tamil Nadu (16.7%) followed by Kerala (13.3%) and Chhattisgarh (13.3%). It was also found that majority (55.41%) of the respondent’s preferred freshwater fishes while 44.59% were in favor of marine fishes. The results of the study also indicated that the factors which are responsible for selecting a different form of fish for consumption were primarily by taste (91.33%) followed by availability (81.33%) and affordable price (57.33%) and the knowledge of fish cooking skills (37.33%). The study added further that there is a less preference among the respondents about the consumption of marine fishes as compared to the freshwater fisheries due to the several criteria viz., taste, availability, affordability and the cooking skills.

Application/ Improvement: The finding of the study will provide an idea about the fish preferences and consumption pattern among the consumers since it covers the respondent from different parts of India at a single sampling site. It supports the marketing companies to spot the target consumers by focusing their demands, which also strengthen the supply/value chain of the fish marketing by reducing the number of intermediaries. Increasing the availability of fish and fishery products through online marketing, direct marketing, availability of various recipes of preparing marine fishes in the form of books or leaflets, creating awareness about the nutritive value of fish, availability of processed fish product (value addition and hygienic condition), year-round availability of fish, advertisement through mass media are the suggestions for fostering better fish marketing and efficient fish consumption.