Kwamena K. Quagrainie

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.

U.S. per capita seafood consumption is historically high due to population and income growth and consumer preference shifts toward healthy protein options. Despite this expansion, U.S. fisheries, especially those in the Great Lakes region, no longer fulfill domestic demand due to pressure on fish stocks and regulatory constraints. Instead, aquaculture and imports fill the gap. Rainbow trout, yellow perch, and walleye—three species historically produced in the North Central Region (NCR)—exemplify such trends. To expand marketing opportunities for NCR aquaculture producers, this study estimates willingness to pay (WTP) for these species and several search and credence fish attributes. We designed and distributed a survey instrument to collect hypothetical choice experiment responses from U.S. seafood consumers. Using a random utility framework, we estimate mean total WTP for trout, yellow perch, and walleye of $19.99/lb., $15.89/lb., and $17.37/lb., respectively. Further, we identify average price premia of $1.64/lb., $1.97/lb., and $0.84/lb. for NCR-sourced, wild-caught, and fresh fillet attributes. Our analysis also captures regional preferences. Mean WTP estimates for yellow perch and walleye, which are native to the Great Lakes, are significantly higher inside the NCR. Further, trout commands a higher premium outside the NCR than within, suggesting potential market segmentation for the analyzed species.

A sample of 2,185 Ghanaian households from the GLSS6 was examined using a latent class model of structural heterogeneity in a linear regression framework to assess their fish consumption patterns. The results suggest that Ghanaian households fall into two consumption categories, namely “traditional” and “non-traditional” households, though there is some overlap between the two household groups. Demand for fish is price inelastic in traditional households and approximately unitary elastic in non-traditional households. In traditional households, fish is complementary to poultry but a substitute for red meat. Among non-traditional consumers, fish is complementary to poultry but a substitute for red meat and pork. While price is a major concern for traditional consumers, taste, diversity, health and nutrition are more important to non-traditional consumers. Traditional consumers are in the forest region while the non-traditional consumers are in the Savannah areas.

The Government of Ghana and international NGOs have been encouraging the adoption of fish farming to alleviate poverty and food insecurity through training workshops, financial contributions and creation of a fisheries ministry. Nevertheless, there is no study on how these efforts have influenced the household’s welfare, particularly their nutritional quality. Based on this, our objective is to identify the ways through which fish farming impacts the household’s nutritional quality. We hypothesize that engaging in fish farming will increase steady income flow and access to fish for the household’s direct consumption. We adopted the Propensity Score Matching (PSM) approach in a logit framework to achieve this objective and address the endogeneity from the bias of self -selection by creating a statistically similar-looking control group. The results suggest that fish farming households have higher nutritional quality and frequency of food consumed than the non-fish farming households through direct consumption. The probability of adopting fish farming increases with wealth, location, ecological zone and household size but decreases with household income per capita. The average effect of adopting fish farming on household nutritional quality is 15.5 Food Consumption Score points. Policies that encourage women to engage in not only fish processing, but production as well are advised.

The study examined the determinants of catch sales of artisanal fishers through wealthy middle women in fishing communities of Ghana, often known as fish mothers or “fish mongers”. The effects of selected variables were examined with a double hurdle model. Self-financing was found to negatively affect the fishers’ sale of fish catch through fish mothers. The fishers were 19% less likely to sell to fish mothers if they self-finance, and that self-financing will result in a 10% downward unconditional change on the percentage of fish sold to the fish mothers. Factors that positively influenced the sale of fish catch through the fish mothers were price, percentage of high value fishes, size of boat, fishing experience, and number of fishing trips conducted in a year. The estimated average partial effects of boat size had the strongest effect with about 146% and 91% change, respectively on conditional and unconditional effect on the percentage of catch sales sold through the fish mothers. Overall, the study shows that long-term consistent economic and investment considerations such as investing in larger boats are important drivers for fishers’ choice of selling catches through fish mothers. The main implication of the results is that fishers need some economic leverage such as access to formal capital and financial resources to incentivize them to exercise control over their marketing activities so that they can receive a higher profit from their fishing operations. This is important for the sustainability of coastal fisheries communities and the sector as a whole. Artisanal fishers need resources such as low interest loans and market information systems that will enable them to negotiate prices for their fish catch with fish mothers.

This study employs double‐hurdle model and propensity score‐matching techniques to examine the determinants and extent of adoption and the welfare impacts of improved fish feed technology in Ghana using cross‐sectional data of fish‐farming households. The study focuses on the Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, and western regions of Ghana. The results show that the quantity of improved feed used on‐farm is far below what is technically recommended for maximum yield. The analysis provides evidence that the adoption of improved feed technology increases fish income, as well as reduces poverty among fish‐farming households in the study area. In order to spur the adoption and intensity of the technology, complementary factors such as improving education, delivery of extension services and credit facilities, expansion of area under fish farming, and reduction in the price of improved feed are recommended.

The impacts of improved agricultural technologies on smallholder households in Africa are well documented in the literature. However, the literature on the welfare impacts of aquaculture technologies, especially in the context of smallholder households, is very scanty. This paper applies the propensity score matching technique to household survey data to examine the impact of improved feed technology on fish income and poverty in Kenya. After controlling for observable household characteristics, the results indicate that improved feed technology increases aquaculture income and reduces poverty among fish farming households. Specifically, the income effect of the technology is 23–37%, with resultant poverty reduction effect of 19–23% points. Evidence from the study indicates that the likelihood of adopting improved feed in Kenya will surge with improved extension service delivery, access to government subsidized feed, and easy market access for purchasing improved feed and sale of mature fish.