Abstract |
Fish consumption rates derived from national surveys may not accurately reflect consumption rates in a particular population such as recreational anglers. Many state and local health agencies in the United States have conducted area-specific surveys to study fish consumption patterns in local populations, assess exposure to environmental contaminants, or evaluate compliance with fish advisories. The National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) of the Environmental Protection Agencys (EPA) Office of Research and Development (ORD) has conducted an analysis of data from fish consumption surveys from the states of Connecticut, Florida, Minnesota, and North Dakota. The primary objective of the analysis was to identify populations within these state that consume more fish and shellfish than either the states or the Nations general population and thus may be at higher risk from exposure to contaminants in fish. EPA was particularly interested in estimating each states fish and shellfish consumption for recreational anglers, low income populations, children, and ethnic groups. The report provides distribution of fish consumption rates for different age cohorts, ethnic groups, socioeconomic status, fish types (i.e., freshwater, marine, estuarine), and fish sources (i.e., store-bought versus self-caught). |