Billfish consumption habits and risk perception of citizens living in the Western Central Atlantic: Focusing on the Dominican Republic and Grenada

Abstract Many physiological and psychological factors govern the consumption and intake of fish. In addition, the perception that consumers have regarding the risks associated with the consumption of fish is also crucially influential. Several studies have investigated the actual risks and benefits of consuming fish to human health. Among the investigated species, mercury concentrations were found to be higher in billfish than in other species. This implies that consuming billfish has potentially negative implications for human health. The present study aims to explore the billfish consumption habits and risk perception of fish consumers who live in the Western Central Atlantic, particularly in the Dominican Republic (DR) and Grenada (GR). Two online questionnaires were administered in the DR and GR between January and April of 2018. Among the 715 total respondents, 626 stated that they consumed fish and were thus included in the study––518 of these respondents were from the DR and 108 were from GR. Most respondents, both in the DR and GR, reported that they generally eat fish at least once a week and that they eat the billfish species in particular around once per month or less. The weekly consumption of billfish was higher in GR than in the DR. The average estimation was equal to 89.7 g per week in the DR and 105.2 g per week in GR. Respondents stated that they eat billfish cooked or smoked; only a marginal number of the DR respondents stated that they eat it raw. The GR respondents mostly consume billfish at home, whereas the DR respondents mostly consume them at restaurants. Billfish consumers were found to have a low perception of the risks associated with billfish consumption. Only 5% of the DR respondents and 14% of GR respondents consider billfish a health risk. Although certain consumers are aware of the sources of risk associated with billfish consumption and of the most vulnerable groups of consumers (such as pregnant women and children under 6 years of age), the percentage of those who do not think or are unaware of its risks is extremely high. These results highlight the importance of designing and implementing information and communication activities that are aimed at warning people living in the DR and GR about the potential health risks associated with the excessive consumption of billfish.