Consumer perception of different species and presentation forms of fish: An empirical analysis in Italy

•We constructed perceptual maps of fish controlling for demographic differences.•We found great perceptual differences between the products considered.•Gender, age and education do not affect the perception of products.•Consumer residence affects the perception of farmed sea bass and sea bream.•We suggest focusing on the healthy aspects of blue fish during promotion campaigns.

Fish consumption analysis involves public and commercial interests. Many studies have focused on this issue over the last few decades. Researchers rarely consider the heterogeneity of these products, while we believe there are at least five reasons why it should always be taken into account: (i) health factors; (ii) environmental drawbacks regarding the consumption of particular species; (iii) the importance of species and how the fish are presented to consumers; (iv) the perceived differences between species are of prime importance for marketing strategies; and finally (v) being able to identify different species helps prevent fraud. Through perceptual mapping we studied the perceived differences between European anchovies (Engraulis encrasicholus), European sardines (Sardina pilchardus) and mackerel (Sgomber spp.), wild-caught cod and sole, and farmed sea bream and sea bass. We checked for the influence of gender, age, education and residence in how consumers perceive seafood. We found that the gender, age and education of consumers do not usually affect their perception of blue fish as being cheap, flavorsome and traditional, cod and sole as nutritional, and farmed sea bream and bass as natural. A slight difference was found in central/southern Italian residents, who perceive farmed sea bream and bass as cheap and flavorful. The results validate the idea that consumers recognize the different attributes of each species or type of fish for sale, but some issues remain unresolved and further studies are recommended.