Dataset Information

Eco-label conveys reliable information on fish stock health to seafood consumers.

ABSTRACT: Concerns over fishing impacts on marine populations and ecosystems have intensified the need to improve ocean management. One increasingly popular market-based instrument for ecological stewardship is the use of certification and eco-labeling programs to highlight sustainable fisheries with low environmental impacts. The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is the most prominent of these programs. Despite widespread discussions about the rigor of the MSC standards, no comprehensive analysis of the performance of MSC-certified fish stocks has yet been conducted. We compared status and abundance trends of 45 certified stocks with those of 179 uncertified stocks, finding that 74% of certified fisheries were above biomass levels that would produce maximum sustainable yield, compared with only 44% of uncertified fisheries. On average, the biomass of certified stocks increased by 46% over the past 10 years, whereas uncertified fisheries increased by just 9%. As part of the MSC process, fisheries initially go through a confidential pre-assessment process. When certified fisheries are compared with those that decline to pursue full certification after pre-assessment, certified stocks had much lower mean exploitation rates (67% of the rate producing maximum sustainable yield vs. 92% for those declining to pursue certification), allowing for more sustainable harvesting and in many cases biomass rebuilding. From a consumer's point of view this means that MSC-certified seafood is 3-5 times less likely to be subject to harmful fishing than uncertified seafood. Thus, MSC-certification accurately identifies healthy fish stocks and conveys reliable information on stock status to seafood consumers.

SUBMITTER: Gutierrez NL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3424161 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Eco-label conveys reliable information on fish stock health to seafood consumers.

Gutiérrez Nicolás L NL Valencia Sarah R SR Branch Trevor A TA Agnew David J DJ Baum Julia K JK Bianchi Patricia L PL Cornejo-Donoso Jorge J Costello Christopher C Defeo Omar O Essington Timothy E TE Hilborn Ray R Hoggarth Daniel D DD Larsen Ashley E AE Ninnes Chris C Sainsbury Keith K Selden Rebecca L RL Sistla Seeta S Smith Anthony D M AD Stern-Pirlot Amanda A Teck Sarah J SJ Thorson James T JT Williams Nicholas E NE

PloS one 20120821 8

Concerns over fishing impacts on marine populations and ecosystems have intensified the need to improve ocean management. One increasingly popular market-based instrument for ecological stewardship is the use of certification and eco-labeling programs to highlight sustainable fisheries with low environmental impacts. The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is the most prominent of these programs. Despite widespread discussions about the rigor of the MSC standards, no comprehensive analysis of the p ...[more]

PMID: 22928029

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Project description:BackgroundThe internet has become a major source of health information for general consumers. Web-based health information quality varies widely across websites and applications. It is critical to understand the factors that shape consumers' evaluation of web-based health information quality and the role that it plays in their appraisal and use of health information and information systems.ObjectiveThis paper aimed to identify the antecedents and consequences of consumers' evaluation of web-based health information quality as a means to consolidate the related research stream and to inform future studies on web-based health information quality.MethodsWe systematically searched 10 databases, examined reference lists, and conducted manual searches. Empirical studies that investigated consumers' evaluation of web-based health information quality, credibility, or trust and their respective relationships with antecedents or consequences were included.ResultsWe included 147 studies reported in 136 papers in the analysis. Among the antecedents of web-based health information quality, system navigability (ρ=0.56), aesthetics (ρ=0.49), and ease of understanding (ρ=0.49) had the strongest relationships with web-based health information quality. The strongest consequences of web-based health information quality were consumers' intentions to use health information systems (ρ=0.58) and satisfaction with health information (ρ=0.46). Web-based health information quality relationships were moderated by numerous cultural dimensions, research designs, and publication moderators.ConclusionsConsumers largely rely on peripheral cues and less on cues that require more information processing (eg, content comprehensiveness) to determine web-based health information quality. Surprisingly, the relationships between individual differences and web-based health information quality are trivial. Web-based health information quality has stronger effects on cognitive appraisals and behavioral intentions than on behavior. Despite efforts to include various moderators, a substantial amount of variance is still unexplained, indicating a need to study additional moderators. This meta-analysis provides broad and consistent evidence for web-based health information quality relationships that have been fractured and incongruent in empirical studies.

Project description:The Nutrition Facts (NF) label was recently updated and now includes the added sugars content in an effort to reduce added sugars consumption. This study investigated whether consumers wanted to access or avoid the added sugars content using an online experiment and five product categories (yogurt, cereal, fruit juice, snack bar, ice cream). We recruited a sample of 490 U.S. adults (49% female; 73% White/Caucasian). Respondents were randomly assigned to an information treatment (simple or full) before making decisions on whether to access or avoid the added sugars content. The simple information treatment explained that added sugars information was now available on the NF label, while the full information treatment included additional details (e.g., how to interpret the added sugars content and associated diseases). After making the access or avoid decisions for each product category, respondents rated their likelihood of purchase for ten products (two per category). Rates of information avoidance were much lower than what has been observed in previous studies, and rates of avoidance did not vary by information treatment. The majority of respondents (75-87% across the five product categories) preferred to access the added sugars content. Still, we found some consumers preferred to avoid this information, with higher rates of avoidance for the ice cream product category. Additionally, we found significant differences in likelihood of purchase ratings between information accessors and avoiders. Respondents who chose to access the added sugars information exhibited healthier purchasing behaviors for all product categories; they were more likely to purchase low added sugars products and less likely to purchase high added sugars products relative to information avoiders. Given consumers' demonstrated interest in accessing the added sugars content, it is important that the new changes to the NF label be broadly communicated to promote healthy eating behaviors.

Dataset Information

Eco-label conveys reliable information on fish stock health to seafood consumers.

Publications

Eco-label conveys reliable information on fish stock health to seafood consumers.

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