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...
Published in: | Arctic Science |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Canadian Science Publishing
2018
|
Subjects: | |
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 |
id |
crcansciencepubl:10.1139/as-2017-0052 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crcansciencepubl:10.1139/as-2017-0052 2024-09-15T17:49:58+00:00 Can traditional methods of selecting food accurately assess fish health? Cott, Peter A. Amos, Amy L. Guzzo, Matthew M. Chavarie, Louise Goater, Cameron P. Muir, Derek C.G. Evans, Marlene S. 2018 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 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Arctic Science volume 4, issue 2, page 205-222 ISSN 2368-7460 2368-7460 journal-article 2018 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2017-0052 2024-07-25T04:10:04Z 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. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Burbot Lota lota Mackenzie river lota Canadian Science Publishing Arctic Science 4 2 205 222 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Canadian Science Publishing |
op_collection_id |
crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
description |
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. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Cott, Peter A. Amos, Amy L. Guzzo, Matthew M. Chavarie, Louise Goater, Cameron P. Muir, Derek C.G. Evans, Marlene S. |
spellingShingle |
Cott, Peter A. Amos, Amy L. Guzzo, Matthew M. Chavarie, Louise Goater, Cameron P. Muir, Derek C.G. Evans, Marlene S. Can traditional methods of selecting food accurately assess fish health? |
author_facet |
Cott, Peter A. Amos, Amy L. Guzzo, Matthew M. Chavarie, Louise Goater, Cameron P. Muir, Derek C.G. Evans, Marlene S. |
author_sort |
Cott, Peter A. |
title |
Can traditional methods of selecting food accurately assess fish health? |
title_short |
Can traditional methods of selecting food accurately assess fish health? |
title_full |
Can traditional methods of selecting food accurately assess fish health? |
title_fullStr |
Can traditional methods of selecting food accurately assess fish health? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Can traditional methods of selecting food accurately assess fish health? |
title_sort |
can traditional methods of selecting food accurately assess fish health? |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
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 |
genre |
Arctic Burbot Lota lota Mackenzie river lota |
genre_facet |
Arctic Burbot Lota lota Mackenzie river lota |
op_source |
Arctic Science volume 4, issue 2, page 205-222 ISSN 2368-7460 2368-7460 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2017-0052 |
container_title |
Arctic Science |
container_volume |
4 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
205 |
op_container_end_page |
222 |
_version_ |
1810291819706056704 |