Price transmission among different Atlantic salmon products in the U.S. import market

The cross-commodity price transmission is an approach to derive meaningful results from the price information, and is mostly influenced by the substitutability and complementary relations among products. Using time series data collected from the National Marine Fisheries Statistics, the present study specified and estimated cross-commodity price transmission models for 13 salmon products imported in the U.S. market. The salmon products are differentiated by form, cut, source/origin, and production environment. The estimated cross-product price transmission elasticity and degree of substitutability among them varied considerably. Whole fresh farmed Canadian and Norwegian Atlantic salmon did not have any close import substitutes in the U.S. market among the salmon products considered in the study. A reduced pricing strategy would result in an increase in U.S. salmon import market share of Chilean and U.K. Atlantic fillet fresh, if the U.S. import demand for it is relatively own-price elastic.     

Economic Analysis of Japanese Household Demand for Salmon

The recent glut of both wild and farmed salmon in world markets has forced producers to become aware of the need to expand their marketing efforts to ensure that demand is not outpaced by supply resulting in a further decline in prices. Japan has been a major market for wild salmon, particularly sockeye salmon from North America, since the introduction of the 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zone. As farmed supplies have continued to increase, exporters such as Norway and Chile have turned their attention to this market as well. Up until now, most of the farmed salmon exported to Japan has been targeted to the restaurant market. If exporters wish to expand their market in Japan, they may focus also on the retail market. Prior to any assessment of the potential of the retail market for fresh farmed salmon, it is useful to understand the role that salmon plays in Japanese household seafood consumption.
This paper examines household consumption patterns of salmon in Japan. An econometric model is presented which estimates household demand for fresh and salted salmon focusing specifically on the effects of seasonality, regional location, and prices of other seafood products. Two systems of demand equations, one for each of two regions of Japan, are specified and estimated using monthly data on prices and expenditures to capture the effects on household demand for 12 seafood products. Results indicate that seasonality plays a significant role in the demand for many seafood products, particularly fresh and salted salmon. In addition, these seasonal effects are not necessarily the same between regions of Japan. Salmon competes with different seafood products during different times of the year. A rich variety of factors should be considered when marketing fresh aquacultured salmon in the Japanese retail market.     

PREFERENCES FOR HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL ATTRIBUTES OF FARMED SALMON AMONGST SOUTHERN ONTARIO SALMON CONSUMERS

The goal of this research was to shed light on the trade-offs that salmon consumers make between five types of production and health attributes of farmed salmon. In Canada, the major southern Ontario market cleaved into five distinct consumer segments that varied according to age and income, ‘tastes’, and threat perceptions. There was strong consumer aversion to increased levels of PCBs, even when increased contamination levels were well within Health Canada guidelines. Both contaminant avoidance and polyunsaturated fatty acid health benefits were generally more important to consumers than improved environmental performance in salmon farming production practices. The strong consumer preferences for reduced levels of PCBs in salmon flesh suggest that there could be a substantial market premium for farmed salmon produced using reduced levels of fish meal and fish oils in salmon feed. This could, by association, increase the environmental sustainability of salmon farming.     

THE RUSSIAN SEAFOOD REVOLUTION: SHIFTING CONSUMPTION TOWARDS AQUACULTURE PRODUCTS

A food consumption revolution is taking place in Russia. After decades of severe constraints on food consumption options under the communist regime Russian consumers are now adopting new food products—including seafood products – at a high pace. Since Russian consumers have previously had very limited seafood consumption choices, the market can be seen as an interesting laboratory for investigating consumer responses to products that have previously not been available. Among imported seafood products are both wild and farmed species. Furthermore, Russian imports include both traditional species such as herring, and ‘new’ species such as pangasius. We analyze market integration among seafood products using Russian monthly import prices from 2002 to 2007 on several products, such as herring, salmonids and pangasius. We find that pangasius compete in the white fish segment, and is a price leader. In the salmonids market, farmed salmon trout appears to be the price leader, both in the fresh and frozen market segment.     

Communicating Risks and Benefits of Aquaculture: A Content Analysis of US Newsprint Representations of Farmed Salmon

It is widely recognized that mass media can affect public perception of risk. In recent years, the public has been exposed to stories on emerging health and environmental risks, including risks from aquaculture. Two key studies (“trigger events”) compared contaminants in farmed and wild salmon and evaluated potential health risks of consumption. This study investigates how US newspaper coverage of farmed salmon fluctuated in the face of this emerging scientific information and which types of purported risks and benefits received the most attention. We hypothesized that media attention to farmed salmon would focus more on negative information (e.g., health risks) than on positive information (e.g., health benefits) and that those health risks highlighted most often would be dramatic, rare, or vivid. US newspaper stories specific to farmed salmon and published from 2000 to 2005 were collected from online databases (N = 206). Stories were content analyzed for amount of text covering various human health and environmental risks and health benefits associated with farmed salmon. Over all time periods, 49% of text about farmed salmon discussed human health risks, while benefits were described less than 10% of the time. The two trigger events corresponded with a shift in media attention away from environmental risks to human health risks, as media generally reported the studies’ conclusions as true. Risks emphasized the most tended to be severe or dreadful, such as cancer and developmental defects, while other health risks and all environmental risks received much less attention. This pattern presented the public with a message of severe health consequences from consuming farmed salmon and could induce the public to perceive health risks as being much greater than could be offset by its health benefits.     

A DEMAND ANALYSIS FOR CRUSTACEANS AT THE U.S. RETAIL STORE LEVEL

This study used a LA/AIDS model to estimate demand system for crustacean species, shrimp, crab, crawfish and lobster at the U.S. retail store level. Shrimp demand is price elastic; crab, crawfish and lobster are price inelastic. Shrimp price significantly affects market shares of crustacean products. Shrimp has more substitutes than other crustaceans, and lobster has less substitutes than others. The demand for crab and lobster grow faster than the demand for shrimp and crawfish when expenditure increases. Promotion has positive effects on market shares and sales volume of own products and negative effects on cross-products. Shrimp price-reduction promotion strategies will be effective in term of raising shrimp sales value. Marketing programs that increase consumers’ marginal utility with an additional small increase in the selling price of crab, crawfish and lobster products will be feasible, and bring higher sale values.     

Characterization of supply of marine finfish species with potential for commercial growth in the United States

Global production of marine finfish has grown in total volume of production and the number of species farmed commercially, but there has been little production in the United States of marine finfish other than salmon and red drum. For most species considered to be ready for commercialization, there are few or no farms from which to evaluate the size of the market or to estimate revenues and costs necessary to assess economic feasibility. This present study takes a first step to fill this gap with an analysis of the existing supply of 20 marine finfish species identified as candidates for commercialization in the United States, as a proxy for effective demand (the volume of a product sold at the market equilibrium price). Secondary data from 1950 (where available) through 2019 were compiled on each species, including (1) global aquaculture production, (2) US aquaculture production, (3) US commercial landings, (4) US recreational landings, and (5) imports. Current effective market demand (measured as the sum of commercial landings, farmed production, and imports) was low, totaling 36.6 million kg across the 20 species, which is equivalent to less than 23% of the annual volume sold of US farmed catfish. Commercial landings for 17 of the 20 species exhibited declines, potentially offering opportunities for farmed product to capture market share by filling the increasing gaps in supply. The variability in commercial landings provides opportunities for farms to capitalize on their advantage in supplying product with a high degree of consistency of volume, size, delivery frequency, and quality. Several unknown factors suggest the need for follow-up studies on consumer preferences, degree of substitutability among finfish species, and effects of recreational landings on demand. An important limitation to prospective producers is the lack of species-specific import data for the generic categories of “flounder,” “bass,” and “snapper.” This supply analysis provides a foundational analysis for prospective producers, investors, and researchers interested in commercialization of these marine species.     

High numbers of farmed Atlantic salmon. Salmo salar L., observed in oceanic waters north of the Faroe Islands

Abstract. To estimate the proportion of escaped fanned Atlantic salmon. Salmo salar L., at the feeding grounds in the north-east Atlantic Ocean, samples of salmon caught with long-lines north of the Faroe Islands were examined. Identification of reared fish was carried out using scale analysis. The proportion of fanned fish was estimated to range from 25 to 48% in the different samples, suggesting that high numbers of escaped farmed salmon occur in the Norwegian Sea. The farmed fish were significantly smaller in size than the wild salmon. Although it is suggested that most of the farmed fish are of Norwegian origin, farmed fish of Scottish, Faroese and Irish origin are also believed to be present. If not accounted for, high numbers of reared salmon in fisheries and stocks will seriously affect the assessments of fisheries and stocks of wild salmon.     

Price interactions between salmon and wild caught fish species on the Spanish market

Abstract

The introduction and rapid expansion of farmed salmon production in the mid 1980s has transformed the international market for salmon. Spain is one of the most important markets for fish within Europe and the world, and has seen a substantial increase in its demand for salmon. As in other European countries, this has raised concerns that the increased supply of salmon to Spain may have detrimental effects on the market prices of traditional (wild‐caught) species.

In this paper, the extent to which salmon competes with the main traditional fish species in the Spanish market is examined using market delineation methodologies. In particular, the potential interactions between species is examined in a multivariate cointegration framework. The results suggest that salmon is at best only a weak substitute for tuna, hake and whiting, but no significant interaction could be found.     

Incidence of escaped farmed salmon, Salmo salar L., in commercial salmon catches and fresh water in Northern Ireland

External morphological characteristics were used to identify escaped farmed Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., in a coastal salmon fishery in County Antrim, Northern Ireland during four fishing seasons and at an adjacent freshwater location (R. Bush) during a 5-year period. Out of a total of 36 326 adult salmon examined in the fishery, 883 (2.4%) were identified as having escaped from sea cages. Annual average values ranged from 0.26% to 4.04% of the fish caught. Occurrence of escapees entering an adult trap in fresh water averaged 0.88%, with a range of 0.13–2.62%, depending on year. No correlation between presence in the marine fishery and in fresh water was evident, the latter year-round figures probably being more indicative of presence of escapees in spawning stocks. Entry to fresh water was significantly later on average for escaped farmed salmon, compared with wild salmon.     

Labeling farmed seafood: A review

Food labels help consumers choose products in line with their food attitudes and preferences. As the market for farmed seafood grows, it is important for producers to meet consumer demand for credence characteristics like safety, nutrition, origin, and sustainability. Consumer preferences for credence characteristics are heterogeneous, and stakeholders in the farmed seafood industry can look to both agriculture and marine labels when they seek ways of positioning their products. In this article, we conduct a review of consumer studies related to mandatory and voluntary labels used for farmed seafood. In most developed countries, mandatory seafood labels include information about species, farmed or wild, and area of origin. Voluntary labels include information regarding sustainability, organic production, animal welfare, traceability, and safety. We point to emerging research topics and possibilities. Challenges related to the labeling of farmed seafood are also discussed.     

THE VALUE OF INFORMATION IN SALMON FARMING. HARVESTING THE RIGHT FISH AT THE RIGHT TIME

Research on management practices in fish farming has traditionally focused on two topics: production planning and forecasting of prices. This article combines these two areas of research, and illustrates how information on price patterns can change production plans, and hence increase the value of the farm enterprise. It will present a model farm and illustrate, with different levels of price information, how information on future prices alters the original production plan and hence creates extra value for the farmer. Although the specifics and empirical application of the paper are on salmon and salmon farming, the ideas and general results could be applied to all farmed species.     

Salmon importation and consumption in Taiwan

ABSTRACT

Few studies have investigated salmon consumption and trade in unconventional emerging markets. Using import data, we calculate average per capita monthly salmon consumption in Taiwan, where all supply is imported, and use weighted least squares regression to relate it to economic variables, such as price, income, product types, and the exchange rate. By doing so, we interpret importers’ willingness to import and the features of salmon consumption. Results show complementarity between frozen and fresh salmon import quantities, insignificant exchange rate pass-through effects, and strong seasonal factors affecting salmon import quantity. In addition, the import price elasticity of fresh salmon is slightly larger than one, and the income elasticity is 1.33. We conclude that salmon has already become an important item for Taiwanese consumers, representing a case of globalization and liberalization. By explicating attributes of emerging seafood markets, this analysis will support stakeholders to formulate seafood trade policies and marketing strategies.     

U.S. seafood consumption

U.S. seafood consumption has changed dramatically in recent decades and has become increasingly dominated by the consumption of a limited number of species that are primarily imported and predominantly sourced from aquaculture. In getting to this point, the United States has been, and still is, at the forefront of some of the most important trends in global seafood markets. Hence, discussing the factors influencing U.S. seafood consumption patterns is an interesting and informative endeavor and will most likely also have strong predictive power for the continued development of seafood markets in the United States. In this article, we will discuss the transitions in the U.S. seafood market, primarily focusing on the period from 1990 to the present, highlighting the main factors that facilitated this development. This article provides an overview of U.S. landings, aquaculture production, exports, and imports and also explores contributing trends in global export and import markets. This will be followed by a discussion of U.S. per capita consumption patterns and an examination of the consolidation of species consumed over time. Finally, implications for future trends in seafood consumption and production are discussed.     

Possibility of anisakid larvae infection in farmed salmon

SUMMARY: Nematodes belonging to the family Anisakidae including Anisakis simplex and Pseudoterranova decipiens are known to cause anisakiasis when their live larvae are ingested by humans. We estimated the possibility of anisakid infection to salmonids, farmed in sea net-pens at Onagawa Bay, Miyagi, Japan, in 1992, 1998 and 1999, by direct examination of the edible muscle and examination of the contents of the alimentary canal. From direct examination of the muscle, no nematode was found in the 249 farmed coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch and 40 farmed rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss . In contrast, third-stage larvae of Anisakis simplex were found in seven of 14 wild coho salmon caught in Russia and all the 40 wild chum salmon Oncorhynchus keta caught at Nemuro and Kesennuma in 1998. The stomach and intestines of 521 farmed coho salmon and 40 farmed rainbow trout were examined carefully for the existence of possible carrier organisms such as crustaceans, fish or squid. Such carrier organisms were not found in the stomach and intestines of farmed fish. Thus, we conclude that the possibility of anisakid infection is very low in farmed salmonids.     

ON THE WILLINGNESS-TO-PAY FOR RECREATIONAL FISHING—ESCAPED FARMED VERSUS WILD ATLANTIC SALMON

This article explores to what extent escaped farmed salmon from fish farms affect the willingness-to-pay for recreational fishing of Atlantic salmon in Norwegian rivers. This is a first attempt to explore the economic consequences of escaped farmed species in terms of the anglers’ willingness-to-pay for fishing permits working through the relationship between the price of fishing permits and the share of escaped farmed salmon. The empirical analysis is based on the results from a contingent valuation survey conducted in Norway. It is found that the presence of escaped farmed salmon in Norwegian rivers may have severe economic consequences on the willingness-to-pay for recreational fishing with a reduction of up to 85% compared to a situation with a ‘pure’ wild salmon stock.     

THE DEMAND FOR FISH: A META-ANALYSIS OF THE OWN-PRICE ELASTICITY

Several studies have estimated the demand for fish using a variety of modeling procedures. In light of differences in the literature, we perform a meta-analysis of the own-price elasticity of fish from a survey of 168 studies. Regressing the own-price elasticity on study characteristics, we find the own-price elasticity is sensitive to demand specification, data issues, estimation method, and publication characteristics. Also, not only is the demand for salmon more price elastic compared to other fish, but the U.S. demand for fish is more price elastic compared to other countries.     

Epidemiological observations of pancreas disease of farmed Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., in Ireland

Epidemiological investigations into the pancreas disease (PD) of farmed salmon were conducted on populations of Atlantic salmon reared in Ireland during 2003 and 2004. The investigations surveyed all marine salmon farms operating in Ireland through a detailed questionnaire with follow-up farm visits. Information was gathered on 21 populations of fish in 2003 and 14 populations in 2004. Thirteen of the 21 populations suffered PD in 2003 and 12 of the 14 in 2004. The mean mortality due to PD on affected farms was 18.8% in 2003 and 14.8% in 2004 and the loss of growth due to PD was estimated at 11.4% over the 2-year period. The highest risk periods for outbreaks of PD were early summer and early autumn and the farms most seriously affected by PD mortality were in the western counties of Ireland. Factors which showed an indication of association with a PD outbreak or high mortality during a PD outbreak were: livestock movement to another sea site, high feeding rate prior to any PD outbreak, the presence of another PD positive farm in the same water body, greater than 250000 fish on a site, a previous history of PD on a site, a high sea lice burden, and sites located in the western regions of Ireland which reared a specific strain of salmon.     

Atlantic salmon,Salmo salar L. are broadly susceptible to isolates representing the North American genogroups of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus

Beginning in 1992, three epidemic waves of infectious hematopoietic necrosis, often with high mortality, occurred in farmed Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. on the west coast of North America. We compared the virulence of eleven strains of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV), representing the U, M and L genogroups, in experimental challenges of juvenile Atlantic salmon in freshwater. All strains caused mortality and there was wide variation within genogroups: cumulative mortality for five U‐group strains ranged from 20 to 100%, four M‐group strains ranged 30‐63% and two L‐group strains varied from 41 to 81%. Thus, unlike Pacific salmonids, there was no apparent correlation of virulence in a particular host species with virus genogroup. The mortality patterns indicated two different phenotypes in terms of kinetics of disease progression and final per cent mortality, with nine strains having moderate virulence and two strains (from the U and L genogroups) having high virulence. These phenotypes were investigated by histopathology and immunohistochemistry to describe the variation in the course of IHNV disease in Atlantic salmon. The results from this study demonstrate that IHNV may become a major threat to farmed Atlantic salmon in other regions of the world where the virus has been, or may be, introduced.