Can traditional methods of selecting food accurately assess fish health?

Indigenous peoples living in Canada’s north have long-valued the livers of Burbot (Lota lota) as a traditional food source; however, there has been concern relating to liver quality and potential contaminants. In this study, livers of Burbot collected in lower Mackenzie River were ranked using a tra...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Arctic Science
Main Authors: Cott, Peter A., Amos, Amy L., Guzzo, Matthew M., Chavarie, Louise, Goater, Cameron P., Muir, Derek C.G., Evans, Marlene S.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Canadian Science Publishing 2018
Subjects:
General Earth and Planetary Sciences
General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
General Environmental Science
Mackenzie River
Arctic
Burbot
Lota lota
Mackenzie river
lota
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/as-2017-0052
https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/as-2017-0052
https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/as-2017-0052
Description
Summary:Indigenous peoples living in Canada’s north have long-valued the livers of Burbot (Lota lota) as a traditional food source; however, there has been concern relating to liver quality and potential contaminants. In this study, livers of Burbot collected in lower Mackenzie River were ranked using a traditional appearance-based assessment. These rankings were compared to a variety of biological and contaminant metrics. Livers ranked “most palatable” had a significantly higher mass and lipid content and were from younger fish with greater hepatosomatic index and total mass and had lower parasite intensities. There were no differences in the concentrations of persistent organic pollutants or metals, except copper, which although still well below consumption guidelines, was significantly higher in fish with livers that appeared most palatable. The results of this study demonstrated that traditional methods effectively assessed the quality of livers by selecting for the most nutritious (high lipid levels) and safest (low parasite loading) food. This method could be incorporated into a community-based monitoring framework as a rough index of overall fish and ecosystem health; however, would not be effective in screening food for anthropogenic contaminants. This study highlights the importance and value of linking traditional knowledge into scientific studies.

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