Avaliação do consumo de pescado no Município de Cruz das Almas Bahia

Abstract

Fishes are an important source of animal protein and other nutrients for human nutrition. The features of fish consumption are relevant information to understand a local market. This current study aimed to evaluate fish consumption in the municipality of Cruz das Almas (State of Bahia – Brazil). The data were obtained during January and February of 2022 when the collection of information about fish consumption of 130 people happened. The interview of these people occurred through an online questionnaire via the Google forms platform. The results showed that 67.7% of interviewees were female while 32.3% were male, their ages varied between 19 and 59 or older, and 63.8% were graduate students. Almost all the interviewees eat fish (96.9%), and the frequency of fish as the principal consumption was once a week (29.4%). When related to the other aquatic organisms, fishes are the most preferred because they are healthy and tasty. The principal place of fish purchase was the supermarket (53.2%), and the major location of consumption was their residences (72.2%). The species preferred for consumption were tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) (n=40), hake (Merluccius sp) (n=30), and sardines (Sardinella brasiliensis) (n=20), and the fish-filled was the form most cited. It was detected that the consumers preferred fishes of marine origin (69.0%). The consumers considered the price as a factor that affects negatively the fishes purchase (46.5%), while the taste is the most positive factor in the purchase decision (66.1%). Therefore, the results show that to increase the fish consumption in Cruz das Almas is necessary planning and strategies of marketing, with a possible decrease of the prices of the products, because this one is considered the impediment of the purchase moment.