Connecting fishery science to health policies for diet-specific solutions in low-income low food access communities: a population health approach

Fisheries will not alone feed the world’s growing population. However high micronutrient density of seafood will play a critical role in alleviating health concerns among nutrient-deficient communities. After two decades of... [ view full abstract ]

Fisheries will not alone feed the world’s growing population. However high micronutrient density of seafood will play a critical role in alleviating health concerns among nutrient-deficient communities. After two decades of careful conservation-based management, US West Coast assessments indicate that many of its stocks have rebuilt from severe overfishing. Amidst these ecological successes, rural communities rank high among coastal regions for poverty and diet-based noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) to the detriment of wellbeing. This follows a pattern of inequity increasingly common across the development spectrum: households with low income and low access to healthy foods (LILA) incentivize residents to select more affordable, calorie-rich but nutrient-poor foods. Without developing a relational understanding of sustainable fisheries production, healthy diets and NCDs, it is impossible to consider how nutritional value of local fisheries might reconcile with the ecological and economic paradigms that dominate current management discourse. As a result, conservation decision-making may inadvertently ignore the potential for development of local seafood supply focused on health outcomes, and a benefit of marine science to contribute to public health is lost. This transdisciplinary research synthesizes place-based data from fisheries landings, socioeconomic and food access surveys, and public health information. We use a population health approach to identify where nutritious and underutilized fish are landed and evaluate whether this fish might become available to LILA households. In doing so we encourage equitable and inter-sectoral solutions to alleviate diet-based health concerns that respect the need for continued conservation of fisheries resources and livelihoods in coastal communities.