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 sport-fishers. 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. (C) 1999Academic Press.