With increasing concerns over the environmental impacts of the production process for seafood, many consumers are willing to pay premiums for ecolabels to support s ustainable fisheries. Most studies of consumer preferences for ecolabels are conducted in the retail setting with limited attention given to sustainable seafood consumption away from home. However, seafood consumption away from home at restaurants takes a significant share in the overall seafood consumption market. Using a national online survey, this paper investigates consumer preferences and willingness to pay for eco-labeled seafood restaurants. The results show there is a positive WTP for eco-labeled seafood restaurants, indicating that consumer preferences for seafood ecolabels seem to be consistent over the consumption settings. Age, education, race, preference for eco-label certification, preference for the rating of restaurants, preference for the restaurant type, and knowledge of ecolabels are variables significantly affect the amount of WTP for eco-labeled seafood restaurants . The results of this study provide deep insight into the ways to further foster the sustainable seafood movement by enforcing the importance of restaurants as a significant role in the supply market.
Key words: Ecolabels; restaurants; sustainable seafood