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Fish PCB concentrations and consumption patterns among Mohawk women at Akwesasne.

A study was conducted to determine concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in local fish and to establish patterns of fish consumption of nursing Mohawk women residing near three industrial hazardous waste sites. From 1986 to 1992, 97 Mohawk women were interviewed within one month postpartum. A comparison group consisted of 154 nursing Caucasians. Samples of 348 local fish were analyzed for PCBs. The results indicated that fish in the Mohawk area, especially those collected offshore from the waste sites, had been contaminated with PCBs. The dietary data showed a greater past prevalence of local fish consumption among Mohawk mothers, with an overall annual mean of 23.5 local fish meals more than one year before the pregnancy compared with 14.1 for the control women (p < 0.001). The prevalence of consumption by the Mohawks, however, declined over time, resulting in overall mean rates of 9.2 local fish meals one year or less before pregnancy, and 3.9 meals per year during pregnancy (p < 0.001 for linear trend). Compared to the Mohawks, significantly fewer control women stopped eating local fish, and their rates declined less sharply. A secular trend was also observed in the overall rate of consumption during pregnancy for the Mohawks, with those who gave birth in 1986-1989 having a mean of 10.7 local fish meals per year during pregnancy, compared with means of 3.6 and 0.9 respectively for women who delivered in 1990 and 1991-1992 (p < 0.05 for linear trend). No such trend was apparent for the controls. No background variable was significantly related to the rate of local fish consumption among the Mohawks, but a decrease over time in the rate of local fish consumption was greater among those Mohawks who ate the most local fish initially (r = -0.76, p < 0.001), or who also reduced their alcohol intake during pregnancy (r = 0.35, p < 0.05). Mohawks were also more likely than the controls to trim the fat, remove the skin from, and fry and fish they ate during the past year. These dietary changes may be the result of advisories that have been issued over the past decade recommending against the consumption of local fish by pregnant and nursing Mohawk women. Such changes, if sustained, should reduce their exposure to PCBs and correspondingly the potential for adverse health effects.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

The role of collagen in the quality and processing of fish.

Collagen in the muscles of fish constitutes the main component of the connective tissue membranes joining individual myotomes and is responsible for the integrity of the fillets. The content of collagen in fish muscles is from about 0.2 to 1.4% and in squid mantel about 2.6%. Fish and invertebrata collagens contain slightly more essential amino acids than intramuscular bovine connective tissue collagen. The invertebrata collagens are exceptionally rich in sugars linked mainly O-glycosidically to hydroxylysine residues. During maturation of fish the proportion of collagen to total protein in the muscles increases while the extent of crosslinking does not change significantly. The thermal properties of fish collagens depend significantly on the content of hydroxyproline and proline residues which in turn is correlated to the temperature of the habitat. Generally the shrinkage temperature of fish skin collagens is about 20 degrees C lower than that of mammalian hide collagens. In several species of fish the weakening of the connective tissues post mortem may lead to serious quality deterioration that manifests itself by disintegration of the fillets, especially under the strain of rough handling and of rigor mortis at ambient temperature. Thermal changes in collagen are the necessary result of the cooking of fish, squid, and minced fish products and contribute to the desirable texture of the meat. However, they may lead to serious losses during hot smoking due to a reduction in the breaking strength of the tissues when heating is conducted at high relative humidity. Because of the high viscosity of gelatinized collagen, it is not possible to concentrate the fish stickwaters, a proteinaceous byproduct of the fish meal industry, to more than 50% dry matter. Better knowledge of the contents and properties of fish collagens could be helpful in rationalizing many aspects of fish processing.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed2006

Water quality and fish size affect toxicity of endosulfan, an organochlorine pesticide, to rainbow trout.

The acute toxicity of endosulfan in juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss, 10.61+/-1.69 g) was evaluated in glass aquaria under static conditions. Nominal concentrations of endosulfan in the toxicity test ranged from 1.3 microg l(-1) to 29 microg l(-1). The concentrations of endosulfan that killed 50% of the rainbow trout within 24-h (24-h LC50), 48-h LC50, 72-h LC50, and 96-h LC50 were 19.78, 8.89, 5.28, and 1.75 microg l(-1), respectively. None of the unexposed control fish died, and the first fish died 4 h after exposure to 26.3 microg l(-1) of endosulfan. Survival of fish was significantly increased with increasing fish size and decreased with decreased fish size at the same temperature (p<0.001). Temperature also had a significant effect on survival of fish. Alkalinity at levels above 20 mg l(-1) as CaCO3 significantly increased survival of fish at 19.78 microg l(-1) of endosulfan. Increasing alkalinity from 20 mg l(-1) as CaCO3 to 42 or higher concentrations tested in this study (121 mg l(-1) as CaCO3) significantly increased survival of fish (p<0.01). Total hardness ranging from 55 mg l(-1) as CaCO3 to 126 mg l(-1) as CaCO3 did not affect survival of fish exposed to endosulfan. Endosulfan toxicity was found to be irreversible when fish were exposed to minimum concentrations of endosulfan tested. Histologically, fish gills had lamellar edema, separation of epithelium from lamellae, lamellar fusion, and swelling of the epithelial cells. Melanomacrophage centers were scattered throughout the trunk kidney, head kidney, and spleen. The liver of endosulfan-exposed fish had severe focal necrosis. None of these lesions were seen in unexposed control fish. Results indicate that alkalinity, temperature, and fish size affect endosulfan toxicity of rainbow trout.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Decline in fish consumption among pregnant women after a national mercury advisory.

OBJECTIVE: A well-publicized January 2001 federal advisory recommended that pregnant women limit consumption of certain fish because of concerns about mercury contamination. We endeavored to estimate the extent to which pregnant women changed fish consumption habits after dissemination of this national advisory. METHODS: We performed interrupted time series analysis of data from a cohort of pregnant women (2235 who completed at least one dietary questionnaire) visiting obstetric offices in a multispecialty group practice in eastern Massachusetts, surveyed before the advisory from April 1999 through December 2000 and after the advisory from April 2001 through February 2002. Main outcome measures were consumption of total fish and of four fish types: canned tuna, dark meat fish, shellfish, and white meat fish. Subjects reported fish consumption on semiquantitative food frequency questionnaires administered at each trimester of pregnancy. RESULTS: We observed diminished consumption of dark meat fish, canned tuna, and white meat fish after the national mercury advisory. These decreases resulted in a reduction in total fish consumption of approximately 1.4 servings per month (95% confidence interval 0.7, 2.0) from December 2000 to April 2001, with ongoing declines through the end of the study period. There was no change in shellfish intake. CONCLUSION: After dissemination of federal recommendations, pregnant women in this cohort reported reduced consumption of fish, including tuna, dark meat fish, and white meat fish. Because these fish may confer nutritional benefits to mother and infant, public health implications of these changes remain unclear.

Eating↗
PubMed1985

[Experimental studies on the second intermediate hosts of Clonorchis sinensis IV. Observations on the fate of metacercariae of Clonorchis sinensis in the fish host, Cultriculus eigenmanni]

In order to judge appropriately the suitability as the second intermediate host of Clonorchis sinensis, the present experiments were proposed to survey the metacercaria of C. sinensis in the fish host, Cultriculus eigenmanni, in the field, and to observe, by experimental infection of the fish with Clonorchis cercaria, the penetrating ability of the cercaria, maturity, the process of degeneration and extinction, and infectivity of the metacercaria. The following is a brief summary of the leading facts gained through the experiments. All the ten fish (mean body weight 13.4 +/- 3.43g) which were caught in Ok-ku irrigation reservoir were infected with the metacercariae and the average number of the metacercariae found in the fish body/gram was 4.55. The fish was easily subject to invasion of the cercaria, and the examination of the cercariae after having the fish infected disclosed that 24 hours after the infection, all of the cercariae formed their cysts in muscle and the metacercariae kept growing, that 7 days later the metacercariae were found folding their bodies twice, and that in 15 days the characteristic structure of the metacercariae was complete and made a vigorous rotary movement intermittently. In the case of control fish, Pseudorasbora parva, both penetrating ability of the cercariae and the infective degree of the metacercariae to control host were stronger as compared with the fish host because that the control fish had higher suceptibility to C. sinensis. Afterwards, the metacercariae in the fish host came to a state of maturity and beyond this stage some metacercariae started the process of degeneration and extinction in as early as 30 days, and as more days elapsed, mortality of the metacercariae was not uniformly increased but difference of mortality appeared to be according to the individual of fish host. That is, in 390, 540 and 586 days, all of the metacercariae in the fish hosts became dead, meanwhile almost all of those found in the fish host of 596 days after the infection survived (mortality; 8.51 percent). Percentage of orally administered metacercariae developing to maturity in rabbit is 10.46 percent in the last case. As the days were progressed the shapes of the metacercariae in the fish host tended to change from ellipsoid to almost round shapes, the length became shorter while the width was wider. The results shown above revealed that C. eigenmanni was, though it could not be proper host than P. parva, suitable as the second intermediate host in addition to our previous observation results.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1994

Dynamics of the interaction between the parasitic isopod, Anilocra pomacentri, and the coral reef fish, Chromis nitida.

Field and laboratory investigations into the effect of the parasitic isopod Anilocra pomacentri (Cymothoidae) on the population dynamics of the reef fish Chromis nitida (Pomacentridae) were carried out at Heron Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Fish carried a single adult parasite just posterior and dorsal to the eye either to the right or to the left of the midline. The adult parasite was overdispersed among fish on patch reefs (dispersion factor, k = 0.69). Sequential field observations on a single cohort of fish showed that parasites significantly depressed growth, reproduction, and survivorship. The von Bertalanffy growth coefficients (a measure of somatic growth) were 0.10 for parasitized fish compared with 0.17 for non-parasitized fish. Female fish carrying the parasite produced only 12% of the number of eggs produced by non-parasitized fish of the same size. In the field, the mortality of infected juvenile C. nitida (LCF 15-30 mm) was estimated to be at least 88% in the first 70 days after recruitment of the fish. The mortality of uninfected recruits over the same period was 66%. In laboratory trials, the mortality associated with the infection of juvenile fish by larval parasites ranged from 78% for small fish (mean LCF 15.0 mm) to 28% for larger fish (mean LCF 24.9 mm) within 4 days of experimental infection. This is one of the few studies that evaluates the effect of a parasite on a population of fish in the field.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Posthodiplostomum cuticola (Digenea: Diplostomatidae) in intermediate fish hosts: factors contributing to the parasite infection and prey selection by the definitive bird host.

Infection parameters of Posthodiplostomum cuticola, a digenean parasite with a complex life-cycle, were investigated in fish (the second intermediate host) from 6 floodplain water bodies over 2 years. A broad range of factors related to abiotic characteristics of localities, density of the first intermediate (planorbid snails) and definitive (wading birds) hosts and fish community structure were tested for their effects on P. cuticola infection in juvenile and adult fish. Characters of the littoral zone and flood duration were found to be important factors for the presence of the first intermediate and definitive hosts. Visitation time of definitive bird hosts was also related to adult fish host density. Localities with P. cuticola infected fish were visited by a higher number of bird species. Infection of P. cuticola in fish and similarities in infection among fish host assemblages were correlated with fish host density and fish species composition. Parasite infection in both adult and juvenile fishes was associated with the slope of the bank and the bottom type, in particular in juvenile fish assemblages with snail host density. We conclude that habitat characteristics, snail host density and fish community structure contribute significantly to P. cuticola infection in fish hosts.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Fish oils and human diet.

Trends in global fish catches are described together with fish landings and fish consumption in the UK. The importance of n-6 and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids as essential constituents of human diets is considered and the role of oily fish as a dietary source of the long-chain n-3 polyunsaturates, docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid, is emphasized. The origin of n-3 polyunsaturates in, the marine phytoplankton and their transmission via zooplankton to fish is described as a means of understanding the composition of different fish body oils. The ease with which the fatty acid composition of fish body oils can be manipulated by altering the fatty acid composition of their feeds is emphasized and the dietary requirements of marine and freshwater fish for n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturates considered. Farming fish on diets containing principally fish meal and fish oil, as used in salmon production in Scotland, generates a high quality product with levels of long-chain n-3 polyunsaturates equalling or exceeding those of wild fish. Farming fish on high quality marine oils rich in docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acids is an efficient means of delivering these essential nutrients in human diets and also efficiently exploiting a strictly limited marine bioresource.

Animal Feed↗
PubMed2003

Advice to eat fish and mood: a randomised controlled trial in men with angina.

People with high intake of fish have lower reported rates of depression and a small trial in psychiatric patients suggested that fish oil supplements reduced episodes of depression and mania. As part of a factorial trial of interventions to reduce mortality in angina 452 men were randomised to advice to eat more fatty fish or no fish advice. Maxepa fish oil capsules were supplied to men who found the fish unpalatable. Fish intake and mood were assessed at baseline and six months. Most men (83%) had mood assessed using the Derogatis Stress Profile at baseline and follow-up. Self reported intake of fish was higher in the fish advice group at six months. There was, however, no difference in depression or anxiety in those allocated to receive fish advice. After controlling for baseline mood, the difference in depression score between those randomised to fish advice and those not was 1.29 (95% CI -0.29 to 2.88) and the difference in anxiety was 0.82 (95% CI -0.57 to 2.22) with positive differences indicating more depression or anxiety in those allocated to the fish arm. This trial provides no evidence that increased fatty fish intake in people without depressive symptoms has any substantial effect on mood.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Fish intake, contaminants, and human health: evaluating the risks and the benefits.

CONTEXT: Fish (finfish or shellfish) may have health benefits and also contain contaminants, resulting in confusion over the role of fish consumption in a healthy diet. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: We searched MEDLINE, governmental reports, and meta-analyses, supplemented by hand reviews of references and direct investigator contacts, to identify reports published through April 2006 evaluating (1) intake of fish or fish oil and cardiovascular risk, (2) effects of methylmercury and fish oil on early neurodevelopment, (3) risks of methylmercury for cardiovascular and neurologic outcomes in adults, and (4) health risks of dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls in fish. We concentrated on studies evaluating risk in humans, focusing on evidence, when available, from randomized trials and large prospective studies. When possible, meta-analyses were performed to characterize benefits and risks most precisely. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: Modest consumption of fish (eg, 1-2 servings/wk), especially species higher in the n-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), reduces risk of coronary death by 36% (95% confidence interval, 20%-50%; P<.001) and total mortality by 17% (95% confidence interval, 0%-32%; P = .046) and may favorably affect other clinical outcomes. Intake of 250 mg/d of EPA and DHA appears sufficient for primary prevention. DHA appears beneficial for, and low-level methylmercury may adversely affect, early neurodevelopment. Women of childbearing age and nursing mothers should consume 2 seafood servings/wk, limiting intake of selected species. Health effects of low-level methylmercury in adults are not clearly established; methylmercury may modestly decrease the cardiovascular benefits of fish intake. A variety of seafood should be consumed; individuals with very high consumption (> or =5 servings/wk) should limit intake of species highest in mercury levels. Levels of dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls in fish are low, and potential carcinogenic and other effects are outweighed by potential benefits of fish intake and should have little impact on choices or consumption of seafood (women of childbearing age should consult regional advisories for locally caught freshwater fish). CONCLUSIONS: For major health outcomes among adults, based on both the strength of the evidence and the potential magnitudes of effect, the benefits of fish intake exceed the potential risks. For women of childbearing age, benefits of modest fish intake, excepting a few selected species, also outweigh risks.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Fishing, consumption, and risk perception in fisherfolk along an east coast estuary.

Increasingly public and governmental agencies are concerned about the safety of fish and shellfish that recreational fishermen consume. Fishing behavior, consumption patterns, and risk perceptions were examined for people flashing and crabbing in Barnegat Bay, NJ. Women fished in significantly larger groups than men, and their groups included more children. Subjects fished an average of seven times per month and crabbed three times per month; they caught fish on most outings, and 80% ate their catch. Subjects consumed fish an average of five times a month, eating just under 10 oz (ca. 280 g) per meal. Only 25% of the fish consumed by women, and 49% of the fish consumed by men, are self-caught. Nearly 90% of the people believe the fish and crabs from Barnegat Bay are safe to eat, although about 40% have heard some warnings about their safety. Most people heard about advisories from newspapers or television. Most subjects believe that saltwater fish are safer than freshwater fish and that fish they catch themselves or buy in a bay store are safer than those from a supermarket. People generally do not have a clear understanding of the relationship between contaminants and fish size or trophic level, suggesting an avenue for risk reduction.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Residual levels of DDTs and PAHs in freshwater and marine fish from Hong Kong markets and their health risk assessment.

Axial and ventral muscle from 10 each species of freshwater and marine fish purchased from markets in Hong Kong were analyzed for dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (total DDTs including DDE, DDD and DDT) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Among the 10 freshwater fish species, rice field eel (Monopterus albus) showed significantly higher levels of DDTs in both ventral (125 ng/g wet wt) and axial muscle (127 ng/g wet wt) than the other species. The highest concentration of PAHs was detected in catfish (Clarias fuscus), with 24.8 ng/g in ventral muscle and 9.1 ng/g in axial muscle. As to marine fish, snubnose pompano (Trachinotus blochii) showed significantly higher levels of DDT and its metabolites (1018 ng/g in ventral and 409 ng/g wet wt in axial tissues) than all other marine fish species. The overall concentrations of PAHs in marine fish species were 15.5-57.0 ng/g (axial muscle) and 18.1-118 ng/g wet wt (ventral muscle) where yellow seafin (Acanthopeyrus latus) and golden threadfin bream (Nemipterus virgatus) exhibited the highest concentrations of PAHs in the axial and ventral muscles, respectively. In general, results showed that levels of PAHs in Hong Kong market fish was low and do not expect to cause any concern for human consumption. However, the levels of DDTs in fish samples ranged from 1.10 to 1018 ng/g wet wt, and based on a fish consumption rate of 142.2g/day to calculate the screening value of 14.4 ng/g wet wt for human consumption (USEPA, 2000. Guidance for assessing chemical contaminant, data for use in fish advisories, vol. 1: fish sampling and analysis, third ed. EPA 823-R-95-007. Office of Water, Washington, DC), there were 9 out of 20 (45%) muscle samples of freshwater fish species and 14 out of 20 (70%) muscle samples of marine fish species had elevated levels of DDTs exceeded the screening value. It was also suggested to use ventral muscle for detecting concentrations of persistent organic pollutants in fish.

Animals↗
PubMed2007

Fish consumption and bioindicators of inorganic mercury exposure.

BACKGROUND: The direct and close relationship between fish consumption and blood and hair mercury (Hg) levels is well known, but the influence of fish consumption on inorganic mercury in blood (B-IHg) and in urine (U-Hg) is unclear. OBJECTIVE: Examine the relationship between fish consumption, total, inorganic and organic blood Hg levels and urinary Hg concentration. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 171 persons from 7 riparian communities on the Tapajós River (Brazilian Amazon), with no history of inorganic Hg exposure from occupation or dental amalgams. During the rising water season in 2004, participants responded to a dietary survey, based on a seven-day recall of fish and fruit consumption frequency, and socio-demographic information was recorded. Blood and urine samples were collected. Total, organic and inorganic Hg in blood as well as U-Hg were determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. RESULTS: On average, participants consumed 7.4 fish meals/week and 8.8 fruits/week. Blood total Hg averaged 38.6+/-21.7 microg/L, and the average percentage of B-IHg was 13.8%. Average organic Hg (MeHg) was 33.6+/-19.4 microg/L, B-IHg was 5.0+/-2.6 microg/L, while average U-Hg was 7.5+/-6.9 microg/L, with 19.9% of participants presenting U-Hg levels above 10 microg/L. B-IHg was highly significantly related to the number of meals of carnivorous fish, but no relation was observed with non-carnivorous fish; it was negatively related to fruit consumption, increased with age, was higher among those who were born in the Tapajós region, and varied with community. U-Hg was also significantly related to carnivorous but not non-carnivorous fish consumption, showed a tendency towards a negative relation with fruit consumption, was higher among men compared to women and higher among those born in the region. U-Hg was strongly related to I-Hg, blood methyl Hg (B-MeHg) and blood total Hg (B-THg). The Odds Ratio (OR) for U-Hg above 10 microg/L for those who ate >4 carnivorous fish meals/week was 4.00 [1.83-9.20]. CONCLUSION: This study adds further evidence to a positive relation between fish consumption and IHg in both blood and urine, which may result from absorption of IHg from fish or from demethylation of MeHg. The findings support the importance of assessing IHg exposure in fish-eating communities. Further studies should examine the potential toxicity of IHg in heavy fish consumers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Urban anglers' perception of risk from contaminated fish.

The Newark Bay Complex includes the Newark Bay, tidal portions of the Hackensack River, Passaic River, Arthur Kill, and Kill van Kull. It is a highly industrialized urban area including five counties and more than 20 local governments with a large racially-mixed population of more than 3 million people. In 1982, research conducted by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) showed elevated levels of chemical contaminants in five species of fish and one type of crab in the Newark Bay Complex. Subsequently, the State of New Jersey adopted advisories to guide citizens on safe consumption practices for fish and crabs. Since then, fish consumption advisories have been issued primarily through the Fish and Game Digest, a publication distributed by the state to licensed anglers. However, anglers in the Complex are not required to have a fishing license because the waters are marine. Therefore, most anglers in this area do not receive advisory information. To gain greater insight into the information sources and risk perceptions of urban anglers, a survey was conducted of 300 anglers at 26 fishing and crabbing locations in the Newark Bay Complex during the summer and early fall of 1995. The objectives of the study were to learn anglers': (1) knowledge of fish consumption advisories; (2) belief in the advisories; (3) perception of how safe fish are to eat; (4) sources for information about fish and fishing; and (5) sources for information on fish consumption advisories. The study concluded that while 60% had heard about advisories, they either did not believe or were unconcerned about health effects from eating contaminated species. In addition, the most used source for information about fish and fishing was other fishermen, while newspapers were selected as a source for information about community news, health, and food safety.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Are larvae of demersal fishes plankton or nekton?

A pelagic larval stage is found in nearly all demersal marine teleost fishes, and it is during this pelagic stage that the geographic scale of dispersal is determined. Marine biologists have long made a simplifying assumption that behaviour of larvae--with the possible exception of vertical distribution--has negligible influence on larval dispersal. Because advection by currents can take place over huge scales during a pelagic larval stage that typically lasts for several days to several weeks, this simplifying assumption leads to the conclusion that populations of marine demersal fishes operate over, and are connected over, similar huge scales. This conclusion has major implications for our perception of how marine fish populations operate and for our management of them. Recent (and some older) behavioural research-reviewed here-reveals that for a substantial portion of the pelagic larval stage of perciform fishes, the simplifying assumption is invalid. Near settlement, and for a considerable portion of the pelagic stage prior to that, larvae of many fish species are capable of swimming at speeds faster than mean ambient currents over long periods, travelling tens of kilometres. Only the smallest larvae of perciform fishes swim in an energetically costly viscous hydrodynamic environment (i.e., low Reynolds number). Vertical distribution is under strong behavioural control from the time of hatching, if not before, and can have a decisive, if indirect, influence on dispersal trajectories. Larvae of some species avoid currents by occupying the epibenthic boundary layer. Larvae are able to swim directionally in the pelagic environment, with some species apparently orientating relative to the sun and others to settlement sites. These abilities develop relatively early, and ontogenetic changes in orientation are seemingly common. Larvae of some species can use sound to navigate, and others can use odour to find settlement habitat, at least over small scales. Other senses may also be important to orientation. Larvae are highly aware of their environment and of potential predators, and some school during the pelagic larval stage. Larvae are selective about where they settle at both meso and micro scales, and settlement is strongly influenced by interactions with resident fishes. Most of these behaviours are flexible; for example, swimming speeds and depth may vary among locations, and speed may vary with swimming direction. In direct tests, these behaviours result in dispersal different from that predicted by currents alone. Work with both tropical and temperate species shows that these behaviours begin to be significant relatively early in larval development, but much more needs to be learned about the ontogeny of behaviour and sensory abilities in larvae of marine fishes. As a preliminary rule of thumb, behaviour must be taken into account in considerations of dispersal after the preflexion stage, and vertical distribution behaviour can influence dispersal from hatching. Larvae of perciform fishes are close to being planktonic at the start of the pelagic period and are clearly nektonic at its end, and for a substantial period prior to that. All these things differ among species. Larvae of clupeiform, gadiform and pleuronectiform fishes may be less capable behaviourally than perciform fishes, but this remains to be confirmed. Clearly, these behaviours, along with hydrography, must be included in modelling dispersal and retention and may provide explanations for recent demonstrations of self-recruitment in marine fish populations. Current work is directed at understanding the ontogeny of the gradual transition from planktonic to nektonic behaviour. Although it is clear that larvae of perciform fishes have the ability to strongly influence their dispersal trajectories, it is less clear whether or how these abilities are applied.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Gender differences in attitudes about fish safety in a coastal population.

Behavioral approaches to reducing the adverse health effects of consuming fish with high contaminant levels benefit from understanding attitudes and perceptions about the relative safety of fish. Gender differences in attitudes about fish safety were investigated by interviewing 197 men and 94 women who attended a Duck Decoy show at Tuckerton, NJ. There were significant gender differences in perceptions of the safety of fish, ducks, and deer, with women generally believing that it was less safe to eat these foods than did men. Although people correctly perceived that ocean fish were safer than bay-caught fish from a chemical contaminant perspective, perceptions were less clear with respect to consuming predatory or herbivorous, or large versus small fish. Although men significantly perceived small fish as safer than large fish, women did not. However, people correctly believed that bluefish (a predaceous fish) were less safe than flounder (an herbivore). People uniformly believed it was safer to eat fish they caught themselves or bought in a fish store than those from a supermarket. These results suggest that any program to inform the public about the potential dangers from contaminated fish should take into account gender differences in perceptions.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Dietary non-starch polysaccharides interact with cholesterol and fish oil in their effects on plasma lipids and hepatic lipoprotein receptor activity in rats.

Male rats were fed the non-starch polysaccharides pectin, methylcellulose or guar gum with corn oil or with 60% of the corn oil replaced by fish oil. They were also fed these diets with or without cholesterol (+ cholic acid). Plasma total cholesterol concentration was higher overall in rats fed cholesterol and lower in those fed fish oil or fish oil + cholesterol. Plasma triacylglycerols were lower in rats fed fish oil with or without cholesterol. Hepatic LDL receptor activity was higher overall in rats fed fish oil or fish oil + cholesterol than in those fed cholesterol. Liver HDL receptor was lower overall in rats fed fish oil or cholesterol. Type of non-starch polysaccharide influenced these dietary effects so that in cholesterol-fed rats plasma cholesterol was highest in those fed methylcellulose, intermediate in those fed guar gum and in those fed pectin was unchanged from concentrations in rats fed pectin without cholesterol. Fish oil feeding lowered plasma cholesterol concentration in rats fed pectin or methylcellulose but not in those fed guar gum. Plasma triacylglycerols were lower in rats fed fish oil and all three non-starch polysaccharides, but concentrations were similar in rats fed pectin + fish oil + cholesterol and in those fed pectin. In rats fed methylcellulose + cholesterol and any non-starch polysaccharide + fish oils, HDL receptor activity was uniformly lower than in rats fed pectin, methylcellulose or guar gum. Low density lipoprotein receptor activity was higher in rats fed pectin + fish oil or pectin + fish oil + cholesterol than in rats fed pectin.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Conservation benefits of temperate marine protected areas: variation among fish species.

Marine protected areas, and other fishery management systems that impart partial or total protection from fishing, are increasingly advocated as an essential management tool to ensure the sustainable use of marine resources. Beneficial effects for fish species are well documented for tropical and reef systems, but the effects of marine protected areas remain largely untested in temperate waters. We compared trends in sport-fishing catches of nine fish species in an area influenced by a large (500-km2) towed-fishing-gear restriction zone and in adjacent areas under conventional fishery management controls. Over the period 1973-2002 the mean reported weight of above-average-sized (trophy) fish of species with early age at maturity and limited home range was greatest within the area influenced by the fishing-gear restriction zone. The reported weight of trophy fish of species that mature early also declined less and more slowly over time within the area influenced by the fishing-gear restriction zone. Importantly, the mean reported weight of trophy fish of species that mature late and those that undertake extensive spatial movements declined at the same rate in all areas. Hence these species are likely to require protected areas > 500 km2 for effective protection. Our results also indicated that fish species with a localized distribution or high site fidelity may require additional protection from sport fishing to prevent declines in the number or size of fish within the local population.

Animals↗