Socioeconomic acceptance of aquaculture measured through structural equations modeling. Are there discrepancies between men and women in Spain?

Abstract At present, aquaculture is still subject to social debate. This paper analyzes its social acceptance compared to traditional fishing, mainly by applying the structural equations methodology. This technique has been widely used in recent times in social sciences but is minor in this field. We propose a model in which we break down its acceptance in two dimensions: Product and company. We also try to see if there are differences in the perception of men and women. To this end, we have carried out 803 personal surveys in several Spanish coastal provinces. Among the results, we can highlight the good level of acceptance of its products, positively influencing their companies' perception. We can recommend the development of synergies between the different agents involved to improve their acceptance. By gender, general acceptance is higher in men than in women; however, we have not detected significant differences in both groups' perceptions when analyzed using structural equations.