From sea to saucepan: investigating stakeholder perceptions to inform communication Shellfish are the focus of this European Social Fund sponsored PhD project, with the core aim to investigate stakeholder perceptions of consuming shellfish.
The shellfish industry is an important part of both the UK and Cornish economies, with landings of nearly £11 million in Cornwall in 2011. In addition, there are many shellfish farms around the county, for example in the rivers Fal, Fowey and Camel.
This is hoping to help understand current shellfish purchase decisions, and inform communication between the industry, stakeholders and the public. Existing research highlights numerous factors important in understanding what foods people choose to eat and this project will explore these in the context of shellfish - an area where data is currently lacking.
The study will involve semi-structured interviews and questionnaires with representatives from across the shellfish industry and the public, from producers to consumers, and will run until summer 2015.
Aquatic Water Services Ltd is working with Nick Boase on this project, which is supervised by Dr Mat White, Dr Clare Redshaw and Dr William Gaze.
The project study will be by Nick Boase