Contaminated fish consumption in California's Central Valley Delta.
Extensive mercury contamination and angler selection of the most contaminated fish species coincide in California's Central Valley. This has led to a policy conundrum: how to balance the economic and cultural impact of advising subsistence anglers to eat less fish with the economic cost of reducing the mercury concentrations in fish? State agencies with regulatory and other jurisdictional authority lack sufficient data and have no consistent approach to this problem. The present study focused on a critical and contentious region in California's Central Valley (the Sacramento-San Joaquin Rivers Delta) where mercury concentrations in fish and subsistence fishing rates are both high. Anglers and community members were surveyed for their fish preferences, rates of consumption, the ways that they receive health information, and basic demographic information. The rates of fish consumption for certain ethnicities were higher than the rates used by state agencies for planning pollution remediation. A broad range of ethnic groups were involved in catching and eating fish. The majority of anglers reported catching fish in order to feed to their families, including children and women of child-bearing age. There were varied preferences for receiving health information and no correlation between knowledge of fish contamination and rates of consumption. Calculated rates of mercury intake by subsistence anglers were well above the EPA reference dose. The findings here support a comprehensive policy strategy of involvement of the diverse communities in decision-making about education and clean-up and an official recognition of subsistence fishers in the region.
Shilling
Fraser
F
Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, One Shields Ave, Davis, CA 95616, USA. fmshilling@ucdavis.edu
White
Aubrey
A
Lippert
Lucas
L
Lubell
Mark
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D002140:California; D002648:Child; D004435:Eating; D004777:Environment; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D005398:Fisheries / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005399:Fishes / Q000378:metabolism; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006266:Health Education; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination; D008297:Male; D008460:Meat / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008628:Mercury / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D011050:Policy Making; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism; D014876:Water Pollution / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D008628:Mercury