Assessment of the oyster market distribution chain and its implications for cooperative formation in the Alaska mariculture industry

Abstract

Market preference for attributes of Alaska-produced Pacific oysters (Crassostreas gigas) is studied using survey techniques. Oyster buyers in the continental United States are surveyed to determine the relative importance of intrinsic and extrinsic product attributes, ranging from oyster size to seasonal availability patterns. Implications of market preferences for the development of mariculture cooperatives are then considered. Extrinsic product characteristics such as a good business reputation, frequency and seasonality of product availability, and product price were relatively important to respondents when compared to intrinsic product characteristics such as size, shape, or presence of grit in the oyster.