In a new paper published in the journal World Development, a team of researchers has illuminated how child development outcomes are improved directly by fish consumption and indirectly by fisheries-generated income.
“Understanding the different pathways linking fishery access and early childhood development is key to designing a more comprehensive approach to tackling the effects of changes in fishery access on human well-being,” say Ranaivo Rasolofoson, an assistant professor of planetary health in the Faculty of Arts & Science’s School of the Environment and lead author of the paper.
The childhood outcomes include body and muscle movement, language development, and personal-social emotional responses and social interactions. The study looked at communities on Kenya’s Mfangano Island on Lake Victoria, home to some 30,000 residents.
The researchers show that the consumption of a native, sardine-like species called omena (Rastrineobola argentea) — a historically underexploited species — leads to better child development outcomes than consumption of Nile perch. Compared to Nile perch, omena contain higher levels of micronutrients critical for early childhood development like omega-3 fatty acids, iron, zinc and calcium.
Nile perch is an invasive species introduced to the lake in the 1960s. While they are popular for both eating and commercial use because they are large, fleshy and have fewer bones, the researchers found no significant effects of consumption of Nile perch on any child development outcomes. Nile perch are also an invasive predator that has had a significant impact on the lake’s ecosystem; what’s more, because they are higher up the food chain, Nile perch typically contain more environmental contaminants.
The researchers also show that past studies into the benefits of fisheries on the lake did not adequately take into account the positive indirect impact of fisheries on child development. They show that fisheries income — either through the sale of caught fish or working at processing plants — also improves child development outcomes by improving families’ overall diets.