Exploratory assessment of fish consumption among Asian-origin sportfishers on the St. Lawrence river in the montreal region.
An exploratory survey was undertaken in the fall 1995 open-water fishing season with nine Bangladeshi and nine Vietnamese-origin sportfishers. Survey methodology and techniques of dietary and fish intake assessment were adapted to the cultural values and second language of each community. A 70-item instrument assessing sportfishing practices and fish consumption habits was administered by dietitians in participants' homes. Two 24-h diet recalls (aided by photographs taken by the participants) and a fish consumption calendar permitted the assessment of fish intake in the overall dietary context. A fish frequency item addressed consumption of locally available fish species (both sport and market fish) as well as imported frozen or dried species. Annually, Bangladeshi fishers consumed 46.8+/-25.6 sportfish meals, and Vietnamese fishers ate 40. 7+/-35.1 meals. In contrast, Bangladeshis reported greater annual consumption of imported, frozen nonsportfish (76.0+/-40.9 meals), and the Vietnamese ate more ocean than freshwater fish (45.1+/-34.4 ocean fish meals). Fish constituted approximately 19% of all protein foods eaten among the Bangladeshi fishers and 10% in the Vietnamese sample. Plasma and erythrocyte eicosapentanoic acid (EPA):arachidonic acid (AA) ratios supported findings from the fish frequency question showing that the two groups of Asian-origin fishers eat differing quantities of different fish species and that Asian-origin sportfishers-particularly the Bangladeshis-eat fish overall more frequently and in greater variety and quantity than francophone Quebecers; species selection appears to be both culturally motivated and influenced by the availability of St. Lawrence sportfish.
Shatenstein
B
B
Santé au travail et Environnementale, 75 de Port-Royal, Bureau 240, Montréal, Québec, H3L 3T1, Canada. bryna.shatenstein@umontreal.ca
Kosatsky
T
T
Tapia
M
M
Nadon
S
S
Leclerc
B S
BS
D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001459:Bangladesh / Q000208:ethnology; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D004034:Diet Surveys; D004435:Eating; D005260:Female; D005398:Fisheries; D005399:Fishes; D005506:Food Contamination; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011792:Quebec; D013177:Sports; D014744:Vietnam / Q000208:ethnology