Consumers' Perception and Willingness to Pay for Eco-Labeled Seafood in Italian Hypermarkets

The aim of this paper is to discuss eco-labels for fish products, which are a useful tool toimprove both seafood markets and strategies for sustainability management. In this study, 560consumer-surveys were conducted in selected towns in northern and southern Italy. Both probitand linear regression modeling were used to measure consumers' perception and willingness to payfor anchovy eco-labels. Italian hypermarket consumers demonstrated attention to environmentalfeatures as well as to eco-products, at times, independent of income. The results of this study showthat willingness to pay relates to gender, family situation, mass communication, environmentalfeatures, angler community, and store, along with information from eco-labels. Specifically, femalesappeared highly responsive to seafood eco-labels, and their preferences were informed byenvironmental aspects along with a strong intrinsic motivation to protect marine habitats.According to our analysis, seafood eco-labels could increase the consumers' willingness to paybetween 16%-24% more for the product. Given that consumers? willingness to pay can reveal a newform of an "ecosystem approach to fishery management", there is a high chance that premium pricescould become a tool for sustainable resource management.