Shifting demand to sustainable fishing practices in Darwin's Archipelago: a discrete choice experiment application for Galapagos' certified Yellow-fin tuna

Abstract

In spite of several policies to promote fisheries management in the Galapagos Marine Reserve (GMR), in the past there has been a collapse or near collapse of the two most important fisheries: the sea cucumber and the lobster fishery respectively. Currently, there is particular concern for the Galapagos Sailfin Grouper (Mycteroperca olfax), a regionally endemic species showing signs of severe decline and targeted by the white-fin fishery, a multi-species coastal fishery of high market value. Within this context, the Galapagos National Park Directorate (GNPD) and local NGOs have designed a policy consistent in a product certification scheme aiming to shift fishing efforts from depleted coastal fisheries to healthier pelagic stocks, whilst supporting artisanal fisher’s livelihoods. Using a discrete choice experiment and accompanying survey data, the goal of this research is to analyze the preferences and tradeoffs made by individuals across attributes when purchasing certified fish in the Galapagos. In particular, we account for pro-environmental attitudes within a WTP space model specification and estimate the expected price premiums that tourists would be willing to pay for yellowfin tuna in the area in light of specific characteristics of its local value chain. We find that tourists visiting the Galapagos hold pro environmental attitudes as measured by the New-ecological paradigm and that there is a considerable increase in consumer’s utility from a certification scheme. Tourists care about the level of bycatch associated with their consumption, food safety, quality, and whether is locally sourced, and would be willing to pay for these attributes. This evidence, driven by location specific characteristics of consumers and tourists, supports the design of market-based mechanisms for sustainable yellow fin tuna fisheries in the Galapagos

Introduction

The importance of small-scale fisheries in Latin America and the Caribbean has been widely recognized in terms of income, livelihoods, and food security for millions of people in the region [72]. Specifically, more than a third of total landings and almost half of the economic value of fish landed in Latin America and the Caribbean come from small-scale fisheries [53]. Notwithstanding this importance, fisheries worldwide are facing serious challenges; with nearly 90% of the world’s marine fish stocks now classified fully exploited, overexploited or depleted according to the Food and Agricultural Organization [30]. Under these threats, sustainable management of fisheries becomes not only an ecological imperative, but also an economical one.

Fishery certifications and seafood eco-labeling have emerged as a voluntary and private instrument aimed at promoting a sustainable global seafood markets. These market-based approaches aim to support environmental and/or social sustainability, providing product attribute information to consumers [92]. Independent certification schemes, such as the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) or Fair Trade USA's (FTUSA) Capture Fisheries Program rely on conveying attributes related to standardized sustainable production methods or fair commerce to target audiences, usually from the Global North [8], [90]. Localized and national certification schemes have also emerged, combining sustainability and origin issues as relevant attributes to be conveyed to consumers (e.g., Iceland, [51]). Although it is estimated that approximately 60% of all fish and fish related products are sourced from the Global South, developing nation’s fisheries account for a distinct minority of certified fisheries [66]. Governments and the private sector in Latin America are generally supportive of these schemes, nevertheless, their application remains low [66].

The Galapagos Marine Reserve (GMR) has been at the forefront of conservation and sustainability in the region since its creation in 1998 [17]. However, in spite of several policies to promote fisheries management in the GMR, in the past there has been a collapse and near collapse of the two most important fisheries: the sea cucumber and the lobster fishery respectively. In each case, a weak regulatory framework coupled with perverse market incentives lead to the depletion or near depletion of a valuable resource stock [11], [75].

Given the historical mismanagement of economically important Galapagos fisheries, of current concern are the slow growing and regionally endemic coastal demersal fish species (i.e. groupers and snappers), which are the target of the local finfish fishery [58], [74], [88], [94]. This multi-species coastal fishery is currently one of the most valuable in terms of economic importance for the local fishers, mostly supplying the local tourism industry and exporting to the Ecuadorian mainland [82]. Within this context, the Galapagos National Park Directorate (GNPD) and local NGOs have designed a policy aiming to shift fishing efforts from depleted coastal fisheries to healthier pelagic stocks, whilst supporting artisanal fishers livelihoods [57]. This policy, based on a market approach, intends to use price signals and consumption preferences to influence the local fisheries production decisions. The objective is to launch a certification and eco-labeling scheme, aiming to align market incentives with conservation, to incentivize a shift of fishing effort towards the yellow-fin tuna fishery and sustainable fishing methods.

By using the Galapagos certification policy for the yellow fin tuna fishery as a case study, the goal of this research is to analyze the preferences and tradeoffs made by individuals across attributes when purchasing fish in the archipelago. In particular, we designed and conducted a Discrete Choice Experiment to estimate the expected price premiums that consumers may be willing to pay for specific characteristics of a sustainably sourced yellowfin tuna and reveal important pro-environmental attitudes of respondents, critical for the design of certification and eco-labeling policies [14], [34], [76].

By selecting attributes that capture the benefits - and focus - of distinct certifications initiatives in the market, we also aim to reveal which design, and thus, certification scheme, might be more appropriate for the case of the Yellow fin tuna fishery in the Galapagos Islands. The study of consumer preferences for seafood through choice experiments and other stated preferences techniques has been widely explored in the literature [10], [15], [31]. In particular, previous studies have focused on identifying preferences on seafood information and origin to produce WTP estimates. Jaffry et al. [47] found that within UK consumers, sustainability and quality certification have a positive influence on choosing a particular seafood product. Ariji [5] and Uchida et al. [87] studied seafood consumers’ preferences in Japan. Both found that, indeed, consumers are willing to pay more if the product has an eco-label. Similarly, Witkin et al. [93] noted that consumers are willing to diversify their fish consumption, and potentially switch the demand, if provided with the necessary information. McClenachan et al. [59] addressed the issue within a range of seafood sustainability initiatives, and found that consumers react significantly to ecological and social sustainability attributes. Likewise, they highlighted the role of information when implementing such kind of policy measures. Rudd et al. [71] examined farmed salmon choice trade-offs in Canada, finding that at least a small share of consumers always prefer the local option regardless of the other attribute levels. Similarly, [80], Roheim et al. [69], and Davidson et al. [24] explored consumer preferences for seafood in Italy, Rhode Island and Hawaii, USA, observing strong preference for the local products, respectively. Fonner and Sylvia [31] analyzed four different information labels and found that local labels and eco-labels yield the largest WTP.

More recently, Carlucci et al. [15] found that consumers in Italy are willing to pay a significant premium for certification labels; however, they do not prefer any particular certification. In a similar way, Wakamatsu and Miyata [91] studied the effect of displaying eco-labels on WTP for seafood from the Fukushimia area. They suggested that labels are effective and lead to positive price premiums. In summary, the literature reveals a broad preference for certified locally sourced and eco-labeled products by consumers, but our study aims to fill a clear gap in studies that are both conservation and management oriented, policy relevant, whilst addressing the lack of research in the developing world.

We also include a measure of environmental awareness captured by the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale, to incorporate relevant findings from the intersection between attitudes towards the environment, its impact on purchasing behavior, and the design of environmental policy [23], [27].

Although pro-environmental attitudes have been empirically associated with successful price premiums [16], few valuation studies of environmental goods and services have incorporated environmental attitudes explicitly into their analysis [2], [22], [60], [61], [7], [83].

Revealing information about sustainability preferences in consumers and their pro-environmental and pro-social attitudes is an important input for the design and implementation of market incentives aiming to nudge behavior and hence shift demand towards sustainable fishing practices. We believe this is the case for not only for Galapagos, but also for other artisanal fisheries in the developing world. The remainder of the paper is organized as follows. The next section describes the background and study site. Section 3 details the materials and methods, with Section 4 presenting the results of our WTP space model. Section 5 discusses our results and presents relevant conclusions.