Socio-economic status and consumption pattern of fish consumers in Udaipur (Rajasthan)

The fish consumption pattern was studied by randomly selecting 300 fish consumers which included all the socio-economic groups of the society i.e., higher, middle and lower income groups from each group 100 consumers were selected. A proforma cum questionnaire was specially designed for this purpose and data were collected by personally interviewing the fish consumers. The study indicated that maximum (44.66%) fish consumers were in service (government or private) followed by business (27%) in all the three income groups. Seventy six per cent fish consumers were Hindus followed by Muslims (12.66%). The maximum (45.66%) fish consumers belonged to general caste followed by scheduled tribes (23.33%). About fifty three per cent fish consumers had larger family size (>5) members). The consumers of higher income group consumed fish more oftenly than the lower income groups and only 5.33% fish consumers had no knowledge about the freshness of fish. Among freshwater fishes, rohu was the most preference. Fish curry was the most preferred fish form. The finding clearly reflected the lack of awareness among fish consumers about its different forms such as stuffed, pickles and canned forms. Statistically, chi-square test clearly showed significant association between income of the fish consumer and their fish consumption pattern.