Browsing by Author "Vargas, Cristian A."
Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Dynamic Interactions among Boundaries and the Expansion of Sustainable Aquaculture(2017) Broitman, Bernardo R.; Halpern, Benjamin S.; Gelcich, Stefan; Lardies, Marco A. L.; Vargas, Cristian A.; Vásquez Lavín, Felipe; Widdicombe, Stephen; Birchenough, Silvana N. R.Aquaculture is the fastest growing food production system in the world, generating more than half of the global seafood harvested today. These type of activities are crucial to provide key nutritional components for humanity in the future as populations worldwide are increasing and the demands for securing food resources are imperative. Multiple socio-ecological factors such as weak regulations and focus on maximizing production limit production and threaten the sustainable growth of aquaculture. We present a novel policy framework to evaluate and pursue growth in aquaculture considering four boundaries: biological productivity, environmental constraints to that productivity, policy that inhibits or promotes different kinds of aquaculture, and social preferences that determine aquaculture markets. Using a range of scenarios, we have shown that sustainable growth in aquaculture requires simultaneous consideration of all four boundaries and the potential interactions between all of these options. Our proposed conceptual framework shows that to further expand the boundaries of aquaculture production, the policy focus must remain flexible to enable the adaptation of from single-boundary approaches. Our approach takes account of the current boundaries, helping to consider the adaptive policy, which is deemed as a necessary tool for considering the dynamic interactions among boundaries, thus addressing the problem of defining the evolving limits of sustainable aquaculture.Item Linking social preferences and ocean acidifcation impacts in mussel aquaculture(2019) San Martin, Valeska A.; Gelcich, Stefan; Vásquez Lavín, Felipe; Ponce Oliva, Roberto; Hernández, José I.; Lagos, Nelson A.; Birchenough, Silvana N.R.; Vargas, Cristian A.Ocean Acidifcation (OA) has become one of the most studied global stressors in marine science during the last ffteen years. Despite the variety of studies on the biological efects of OA with marine commercial species, estimations of these impacts over consumers’ preferences have not been studied in detail, compromising our ability to undertake an assessment of market and economic impacts resulting from OA at local scales. Here, we use a novel and interdisciplinary approach to fll this gap. We experimentally test the impact of OA on commercially relevant physical and nutritional attributes of mussels, and then we use economic discrete choice models to assess the marginal efects of these impacts over consumers’ preferences and wellbeing. Results showed that attributes, which were signifcantly afected by OA, are also those preferred by consumers. Consumers are willing to pay on average 52% less for mussels with evidences of OA and are willing to increase the price they pay to avoid negative changes in attributes due to OA. The interdisciplinary approach developed here, complements research conducted on OA by efectively informing how OA economic impacts can be analyzed under the lens of marginal changes in market price and consumer’ welfare. Thereby, linking global phenomena to consumers’ wellbeing, and shifting the focus of OA impacts to assess the efects of local vulnerabilities in a wider context of people and businesses.Item Ocean Acidification, Consumers’ Preferences, and Market Adaptation Strategies in the Mussel Aquaculture Industry(2019) Ponce Oliva, Roberto; Vásquez Lavín, Felipe; San Martin, Valeska A.; Vargas, Cristian A.; Gelcich, Stefan; González, Pablo S.; Hernández, José IgnacioOcean acidification (OA) is one of the largest emerging and significant environmental threats for the aquaculture industry, jeopardizing its role as an alternative for supporting food security. Moreover, market conditions, characterized by price volatility and low value-added products, could exacerbate the industry’s vulnerability to OA. We use a literature review on the biological consequences of OA over marine commercial species attributes to inform the empirical assessment of consumers’ preferences for those attributes affected by OA, and consumers’ responses to a set of market adaptation strategies suggested by the industry. We found that OA will have a negative impact on consumers’ welfare due to the effects on commercial attributes of aquaculture products. However, the main concerns for the industry are the market conditions. Thus, the industry’s current adaptation strategies are focused on increasing their market share by offering new product assortments (with more value-added), regardless of the effect of OA on consumers’ welfare. Despite this fact, the industry’s strategies could eventually contribute to cope with OA since some specific segments of the market are willing to pay for new product assortments. This new market composition highlights the role of public institutions’ reputation in issues related to food safety.