Seventy percent of respondents eat seafood at home at least once a month, and 41 percent do so at least once a week. They are less likely to consume seafood in restaurants as frequently.
In most EU countries, the grocery store or supermarket is where the majority purchase seafood products.
The majority of respondents say they are more likely to buy frozen, fresh and tinned products than they are to buy smoked, salted, dried or in brine products on a regular basis. Most respondents say they do not buy breaded products and ready meals with the same frequency.
Seafood that has been processed, such as by being filleted (50 percent) or cleaned (40 percent) are more popular than whole products, which are preferred by just over a quarter (27 percent) of respondents.
Respondents are slightly more likely to try new items at home (65 percent) compared with restaurants ( 59 percent).
They are also more likely to take suggestions for products from family and friends, rather than from references on TV, websites, books or magazines.
Forty-nine percent of those who do not eat seafood say they do not like the taste, smell or appearance of these products.
Respondents are most likely to buy seafood because it is healthy (74 percent) or because it tastes good (59 percent).
When purchasing seafood products, their appearance (59 percent) and cost (52 percent) are the most important factors, while a significant minority consider origin (41 percent) an important aspect when buying these products.
Respondents are more likely to express a preference for wild products (35 percent) over farmed products (9 percent), but nearly as many say that they do not have a preference (32 percent).
Most respondents prefer seafood from their own country or region.
Respondents quite often get their information about seafood from the store employee or fishmonger (44 percent). The media (32 percent) is the second most often mentioned source of information, slightly ahead of family and friends (30 percent), while a quarter of respondents get their information from the Internet.
The “use by” or “best before” dates, the name of the product and the species and whether the product was previously frozen are seen as the most important mandatory elements that appear on labels. Significantly fewer respondents think that it is important that information about the fishing gear used to catch the product should appear on labels.
As for voluntary information, respondents are more likely to say the date of catch or production should be on labels, rather than ethical or social information or information about the fisherman and country of registration of the ship that landed these products.

EU survey finds consumers eat seafood at home once a month