The Norwegian Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture Research is out to determine why young people have less taste for fish and seafood products, and will include an examination of cultural differences in their search for the answer.
 
The NIFAR study is part of the European research programme SEAFOODplus, an active campaign to carve out a healthy market share in the competitive fastfood sector.
 
The focus of the first phase of the study will be testing the appeal of burgers – made from local northern Norwegian fish – on students. Participants were tempted by free food and a chance to win gift certificates.
 
The study involved roughly 400 students and parents in cafeteria and home settings, to compare reactions from different surroundings and generations.
 
Results from the Norwegian study are expected between May and June 2006, and the survey team in Spain will carry out a corresponding test this spring, to test the reactions of a prominent seafood nation with a distinctly different culture.