Is sustainability on the menu? An assessment of the environmental sustainability of fish offered in restaurants in Guadalajara, Mexico

Abstract: The world's fisheries have been in decline for more than forty years. In Mexico, about 80% of the fishery resources are at maximum capacity levels or overexploited. Given the magnitude of the problem, there is a need for solutions that involve all actors in the fish supply chain. However, solutions and research on how actors in the middle of the supply chain such as restaurants can be integrated to combat the problem are limited. Restaurants play a key role in the conservation of fish stocks as these can influence both fish production and consumption patterns. The purpose of this thesis is to assess whether restaurants in Mexico are including environmentally sustainable fish in their menus as well as to study the opportunities and challenges of adopting this type of fish in their menus. By using a mixed methods approach, quantitative and qualitative data were collected. First, a menu assessment of the environmental sustainability of fish offered in 40 restaurants of Guadalajara, Mexico was performed. Then, eleven semi-structured interviews with restaurants and experts on the drivers and barriers that influence restaurants to include sustainable fish on their menus were conducted. The quantitative data were analysed based on four tools: seafood guides, eco-labels, permanent fish bans, and underutilized fish species. The qualitative data was analysed based on internal and external drivers and barriers devised from the literature. Correspondingly, it was found that environmentally sustainable fish options in restaurants in Guadalajara are scarce. It was also found that the balance between sustainability and the quality, taste, and freshness of the fish as well as consumer demand are key drivers in the adoption of sustainable fish in the menus. The research also found particular barriers to the Mexican context that prevent the inclusion of sustainable fish in the menus. This thesis is of interest for restaurants as well as for consumers, public institutions and researchers looking for areas of opportunity to involve the restaurant sector in the recovery of fishing resources.