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Economics is the study of the allocation of scarce resources to meet human wants and needs and has a critical role to play in addressing challenges related to environmental sustainability, community resilience, and food security. In the context of aquaculture, the key to such a discussion is understanding the linkages of aquaculture farming businesses with other economic sectors and how policy decisions that affect aquaculture result in economic ripples throughout local, regional, and national economies. The only previous national estimates of the economic contributions of U.S. aquaculture are nearly 30 years old. The current study was based on comprehensive data from detailed farm‐level surveys (that captured 77% of the total value of U.S. aquaculture) supplemented by information from publications on the remaining aquaculture sectors. The economic contributions measured in this study were limited to those at the farm level and do not include subsequent impacts that occur as farmed products move through processing, distribution, food service, and retail sectors in the U.S. economy. Results showed that U.S. aquaculture farms contributed $4 billion annually and supported more than 22,000 jobs each year. Labor income and value‐added contributions were $1 billion and $3 billion, respectively. Analysis of the linkages of U.S. aquaculture production activities with other economic sectors showed that nearly all (96%) economic sectors were supported to some degree by U.S. aquaculture farms. Foodfish farms generated the greatest contributions, followed by mollusk farms. Freshwater aquaculture farms contributed twice that of the contributions of marine aquaculture because of the greater size of the freshwater aquaculture sector. Growth of both freshwater and marine sectors would increase overall contributions to the economy. Constraints to growth of aquaculture include regulatory barriers that have restricted existing sectors from meeting current demand for their products. The lack of an adequate regulatory framework for offshore marine aquaculture has constrained its growth and development, especially with respect to the rest of the world. Streamlined regulations implemented in a more timely and efficient manner could result in substantially greater economic contributions from existing U.S. aquaculture farms. The total economic impact of U.S. aquaculture production is likely three to four times greater than the farm‐level impacts estimated in this study as a result of impacts that occur as aquaculture products move downstream through various marketing channels. Additional research is needed to measure the impacts of U.S. aquaculture products in the processing, distribution, food service, supermarket, and restaurant levels of the marketing chain to fully capture the total economic contributions from U.S. aquaculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trade credit (TC) is a more easily accessible financing source to the most small-scale aquaculture farms with limited access to institutional credit in the developing countries. However, it is often argued that TC is a drain, on one hand, and the gain, on the other hand, without quantifying and identifying sources of drain and gain. This study empirically examines the sources and size of benefits (gain) and costs (drain) of TC in aquaculture with a sample of 280 farms in Bangladesh using Stochastic Meta Frontier and Propensity Score Matching. Moreover, factors influencing the probability of having access to TC are explored using Probit regressions. TC enables financially constrained access to inputs, thereby avoiding production losses due to lack of capital. It also allows farms' to use improved production technology with a positive tradeoff between benefits and costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined seafood consumption during the early period of economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, surveys of U.S. consumers compared seafood purchasing behavior of the first two quarters of 2021 (Q1, 1 January through 31 March 2021, and Q2, 1 April through 30 June 2021) with those of 2020. Each survey included 100 seafood consumer respondents in each of the 20 U.S. metropolitan market areas. Following data cleaning, there were 1885 valid responses for Q1-2021 and 1940 for Q2-2021. A majority (57%) of respondents had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine before March 2021 and 70% had received at least one dose as of June 2021. Regardless of vaccination status, few respondents (6% to 9.5% for food generally and 4% to 6.5% for seafood) reported changes in seafood consumption. Seafood consumption away from home increased significantly in Q1-2021 as compared to 2020 and continued to increase but to a lesser degree in Q2-2021. Demographic differences were found in shopping behaviors by age, education, income, and gender, but not by ethnic group. Generally, higher-income females with higher education tended to purchase more seafood. Respondents reported increased numbers of shopping trips per year in Q1-2021 as compared to 2020, which continued into Q2-2021 for general food, but shopping trips for seafood decreased as compared to 2020. The frequency of takeout purchases (times/year) of prepared meals for home consumption of seafood decreased during Q1 from 2020 and remained at that level in Q2-2021, but home delivery purchases of prepared meals of seafood increased during this period. Approximately 50–55% of respondents reported no change in overall seafood consumption levels, while 28% noted an increase in seafood consumption compared to pre-pandemic periods, a significant increase from the 19% who had reported doing so pre-pandemic. In contrast, those reporting a decrease declined from 31% to 17% in comparison to pre-pandemic levels. Seafood consumption in the U.S. remained stable and recovered in early 2021, with a preference for dining out. Consumer behaviors varied by age, income, education, and gender, but not by ethnicity. These changes were primarily driven by access, availability, and income, indicating the need for further research on long-term consumption patterns. This study found apparent stability of seafood consumption by U.S. consumers, which recovered from pandemic consumption levels in early 2021, and there was little change in seafood consumption, frequency, or the types of seafood consumed. Vaccination status did not appear to affect seafood consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquaculture now supplies half of the fish consumed directly by humans. We evaluate whether aquaculture, given current patterns of production and distribution, supports the needs of poor and food-insecure populations throughout the world. We begin by identifying 41 seafood-reliant nutritionally vulnerable nations (NVNs), and ask whether aquaculture meets human nutritional demand directly via domestic production or trade, or indirectly via purchase of nutritionally rich dietary substitutes. We find that a limited number of NVNs have domestically farmed seafood, and of those, only specific aquaculture approaches (e.g., freshwater) in some locations have the potential to benefit nutritionally vulnerable populations. While assessment of aquaculture's direct contribution via trade is constrained by data limitations, we find that it is unlikely to contribute substantially to human nutrition in vulnerable groups, as most exported aquaculture consists of high-value species for international markets. We also determine that subpopulations who benefit from aquaculture profits are likely not the same subpopulations who are nutritionally vulnerable, and more research is needed to understand the impacts of aquaculture income gains. Finally, we discuss the relationship of aquaculture to existing trends in capture fisheries in NVNs, and suggest strategies to create lasting solutions to nutritional security, without exacerbating existing challenges in access to food and land resources.

Despite Bangladesh being the world's fifth-largest aquaculture producer, ensuring quality fish supply and food safety is a major challenge. Illegal practices and the presence of harmful microorganisms consistently compromise the integrity of food items throughout the value chain. To address this, a study was conducted in Bangladesh aimed to estimate consumer willingness to pay (WTP) for safer Tilapia, Pangasius, and Rohu fish using an experimental auction method. Results revealed that consumers' average willingness to pay was 29%, 10%, and 21% more for safer Tilapia, Pangasius, and Rohu, respectively, compared to less safe options despite being unaware of specific safety attributes or production practices. After getting information about the aquaculture practices used in fish production, bacterial pathogens, antibiotic levels, and heavy metal content, participants expressed their willingness to pay a higher premium of 52% for safer Tilapia, 39% for safer Pangasius, and 34% for safer Rohu fish. This dynamic illustrates that when consumers possess comprehensive product safety information, their willingness to pay becomes more rational and sensitive to minimize health risks. This WTP is more for safer fish, underscoring the critical role of safety certificates and labeling in meeting the needs of an increasingly health-conscious population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to explore the shrimp export competitiveness of Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam time spanning from 1990 to 2019. However, emphasizing Bangladesh as a case country, this research looks into the factors influencing shrimp export competitiveness taking into account macroeconomic and policy variables. To do so, we used the recently developed Revealed Symmetric Comparative Advantage (RSCA) index to quantify export competitiveness, while a novel dynamic autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) simulation approach to determine the factors driving shrimp export competitiveness. The findings show that all of the aforementioned countries seem to have some degree of shrimp export competitiveness during the study period, whereas Chain has entirely lost its export competitiveness after 2004. However, Bangladesh's shrimp export competitiveness has dipped marginally in recent years, despite continuous growth in competitor countries such as India, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Further, economic globalization, institutional quality, trade openness, number of trade agreements, and trade freedom all have a favorable impact on Bangladesh's shrimp export competitiveness in the long-run, whereas the international or exporting price of shrimp has a detrimental influence in short-and long-run. Finally, these findings may have implications for a future shrimp export from Bangladesh and some policy recommendation are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]