Under the new common organisation of the markets (CMO) in fishery and aquaculture products (FAPs), consumers play a pivotal role: not only they should be enabled to make informed choices, but a more “sustainable consumption” is also to be pursued. In the same vein, the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) also envisages among its priorities to foster marketing and processing, supporting and funding initiatives aimed at improving the conditions for the placing of fishery and aquaculture products (FAPs) on the market and at promoting the overall quality of the products marketed.On the other hand, targeted policies need a preliminary understanding of the sector in which they are called to operate, and specifically as regards the preferences and purchasing behaviour of consumers in the EU. Information available across different countries is scattered and fragmented, and not all EU Member States have a tradition of monitoring the market for FAPs.Based on these needs, and in order to support the appropriate implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and the CMO, the European Commission – DG MARE launched a study aimed at surveying and analysing EU consumer attitudes and habits regarding FAPs. This Study was launched within the European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture products (EUMOFA, www.eumofa.eu), and has been integrated with findings of the Eurobarometer survey on EU consumer habits regarding FAPs run in June 2016 in all EU Member States. |
