Sociology of fish consumption of non-coastal villagers (Case study of Golestan province)

The behavior of rural households in 11 non-coastal cities of Golestan province for fish consumption was evaluated. Data were collected through a designed questionnaire. In inferential analysis of the research, chi-square, Mann-Whitney and Friedman methods were used for ranking. About 73% of households in these areas source fish from fish markets and fishing grounds. 47% of households are interested in fried fish and 35.4% are stuffed fish. On average, they buy 6.88 kg of fish at a time. About 60% of them did not eat canned fish and their per capita consumption was 2 cans and their per capita consumption was 40 kg. 83% of them consumed more than the national average. The most important reasons for consuming their fish were one to four interests, cheapness, quality and freshness, and nutritional properties and value, respectively. Their favorite species are sturgeon, whitefish, Bream, mullet, respectively, but when buying, they choose farmed species and most of all, carp. Consumers over the age of 45 gave more importance to fresh fish, and people with higher education than diploma and women surveyed paid more attention to packaged fish than men. With increasing revenue, the tendency to diversify products and types of supply increased, and with increasing age, taste, cheapness, availability and non-extinction of fish became more important. They were very skilled in distinguishing fresh fish from spoiling fish for consumption. High-income and per capita households above the national average did not care about the endangered species. However, the possibility of access to marine fish and reduce fish prices in rural areas is suggested to increase consumption and study the separate consumption of marine fish and farming in rural areas.