Abstract
Consumption guidelines are a common way of improving conscious consumption behaviors in areas where game fish are known to contain contaminants. However, guideline information can be difficult to distribute, and effectiveness difficult to measure. To increase the distribution and effectiveness of guideline information for the Detroit River, an educational campaign was launched in 2010, which included distribution of pamphlets with consumption information, posting of permanent signs at popular fishing locations, and hiring River Walkers to personally communicate with anglers. In 2013 and 2015, we conducted in-person surveys of active shoreline anglers to determine the effectiveness of education and outreach efforts. Results from the survey indicated that 55% of anglers were aware of the guidelines in 2013, and by 2015 36% had communicated the information to family or friends. However, anglers were often unwilling to reduce consumption of popular game species, despite high contaminant levels. Encouragingly, black anglers were most likely to supplement their diet with species lower in contaminants. Our results suggest that utilizing multiple educational strategies including reaching out directly to individual anglers may improve conscious consumption behavior among the targeted population, providing a template for educational campaigns to successfully target vulnerable populations.
Highlights
While fish can be an important source of daily protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and other essential nutrients, fish may contain contaminants, which are detrimental to human health [1], in self-caught fish from urban areas
Industrialization contributed to long histories of chemical contamination in urban settings, resulting in contaminants such as mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and dioxins moving into aquatic food webs
Fish consumption advisories or guidelines are designed to provide citizens with information on fish from local waters that are lower in chemical contamination and are, safe meal choices relative to those that are high in contamination, improving conscious consumption behaviors
Summary
While fish can be an important source of daily protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and other essential nutrients, fish may contain contaminants, which are detrimental to human health [1], in self-caught fish from urban areas. Industrialization contributed to long histories of chemical contamination in urban settings, resulting in contaminants such as mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and dioxins moving into aquatic food webs. Considerable effort was extended to inform the public of the benefits and risks of fish consumption at local, state, and international (United States and Canada) levels in order to improve conscious consumption of self-caught fish species. Fish consumption advisories or guidelines are designed to provide citizens with information on fish from local waters that are lower in chemical contamination and are, safe meal choices relative to those that are high in contamination, improving conscious consumption behaviors. Many populations can benefit from fish as a low-cost, readily available addition to their diet; avoidance of fish altogether reduces nutritional opportunities from fish low in contaminants, a problematic potential outcome [2]
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