Of earth ponds, flow-through and closed recirculation systems — German consumers' understanding of sustainable aquaculture and its communication

• We examined consumers' perception of different production systems in comparison to each other.
• Consumers preferred earth ponds over closed recirculation systems.
• Consumers expect sustainable aquaculture to be near-natural and animal friendly.
• Most of the participants were unaware of sustainability labels on aquaculture products.

Although aquaculture can have various positive effects, it is also criticized for its potentially negative impacts on the environment and for its consequences on fish welfare. One solution to these problems and a promising development track for the German aquaculture sector is the promotion of sustainable production methods. The establishment of a new market segment for domestic, sustainable fish from aquaculture would suit the trend towards ethical consumerism. Thus far, only little is known about the consumers' knowledge and perception of different production methods used in aquaculture especially in comparison to each other. Against this background, the present contribution aims to explore perceptions and knowledge of German consumers with regard to sustainable aquaculture, its production systems, related labels, and communication messages. Focus groups were used to obtain insight into the multitude of consumers' perceptions. One result is that consumers, even though they had little knowledge of aquaculture, often had a limited need for information about aquaculture. For the most part, they were unaware of potential problems resulting from aquaculture. However, they had some clear expectations on sustainable aquaculture. The use of drugs (e.g. antibiotics) should be minimized; production systems should be near-natural and should respect fish welfare. Earth ponds were the most desirable of the presented production systems. Participants were mostly unfamiliar with existing labeling schemes and found the presented communication messages too vague and/or too complex. They wanted to rely on the aquaculture industry to comply with sustainable standards. Our results leave the aquaculture sector with the task of communicating sustainable aquaculture in a reliable and comprehensible manner to consumers. Thus far, consumers who are generally interested in sustainability issues seem to prefer organic aquaculture products to products from other forms of sustainable aquaculture.