Consumer perspectives on theoretical certification schemes for the marine aquarium trade

Certification schemes are a component of sustainable industry development that can help empower consumers to support environmentally friendly and ethical commodities with their purchase decisions. At present, there is no unified certification scheme within the marine aquarium trade, limiting the capacity for consumers to differentiate sustainable products from others. To assess the extent to which consumers show preference for certified marine aquarium fishes (Teleostei) in the current market climate, an online survey of 510 marine aquarium consumers was conducted over a six month period to determine how certification schemes, presented under different themes, would influence their buying decisions when compared to other attributes of potential importance. Using a Likert five point scale, it was determined that consumers placed significantly higher importance on a certification theme of industry best practice (3.99 ± 0.05) than themes of environmental sustainability (3.77 ± 0.05) or supporting indigenous fishers (3.36 ± 0.06; Fpseudo(14,7141) = 212.08, P < 0.01). The only surveyed attributes of greater importance than industry best practice certification were a fish's health (4.81 ± 0.06), aquarium suitability (4.56 ± 0.03), and the fish species (4.21 ± 0.04). A high percentage of surveyed consumers were willing to pay a price premium for fishes that were certified under the themes of environmental sustainability (90.5%), adherence to industry best practice (91.0%), and supporting indigenous fishers (82.6%). This indicates potential for the absorption of the costs of implementing certification schemes by exporters, wholesalers, and retailers. Further analysis revealed consumer predispositions towards certain certification themes that may be helpful in establishing consumer confidence in future industry certification schemes.