Seafood consumption of Filipinos decline

By Bella Cariaso, Manila Times

THE seafood consumption of Filipinos has declined over the years, a study showed, with poor families consuming the least.

The study revealed that the quantity of fresh fish consumed increased with the level of wealth, while the amount of processed fish consumed generally declined as wealth increased.

Based on the findings, the poorest Filipinos consumed at least 179.7 grams of fresh fish; the poor, 210.9 grams; middle income, 239.4 grams; the rich, 258.3 grams; and the richest, 287.1 grams.

The study conducted by the Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Institute (DoST-FNRI) and commissioned by fishers' group Oceana showed that the daily protein intake of many Filipinos is only 94 grams per person, down from the 113 grams per person in 1982.

The study revealed that only 55.1 percent of households meet the recommended protein intake.

"The gap is even more stark among individual population groups that are in dire need of this nutritional intake. Only 17.1 percent among pregnant women, 19.1 percent among lactating mothers and 27.2 percent among the elderly are meeting the recommended intake," the agency said.

"Fish and seafoods are the main source of good quality protein for Filipinos, thus, availability and accessibility must be ensured. If the situation persists and left unattended, this may result in higher medical costs for the management of illnesses as a resultant factor of nutrient inadequacy," DoST-FNRI Director Imelda Angeles-Agdeppa said.

The Cordillera Administrative Region and the National Capital Region consumed the least fresh fish per day, while Zamboanga Peninsula or Region 9 consumed the highest proportion of fresh fish per day.

Oceana Vice President Gloria Estenzo Ramos said that restoring the ocean could feed people a healthy seafood meal a day.

"Our fisheries support communities and, in fact, the Philippines ranks second in the world with a population highly dependent on healthy and vibrant oceans for nutrition, livelihood, and coastal protection. But we need to be vigilant in ensuring that the human-induced pressures on our ocean which caused an alarming decline of fish population, such as rampant illegal fishing in our municipal waters and continuing destruction of marine habitats, are stopped," Ramos said.

The study found that fish from aquaculture like tilapia and bangus (milkfish) offer less nutrients such as protein and iron per serving compared to a diverse option of pelagic species like galunggong (round scad), matambaka (big-eyed scad) and tuna.

Tilapia and bangus are the commonly consumed fish by Filipinos, comprising 26 percent of total seafood consumption per individual.

"The findings should fire us up to restore the once-deep seated relationship that we had with our ocean and make it the wellspring of health, livelihood, and well-being of our people. Let's learn from some of our local government champions who have set the standards high for nutrition, wellness and ecological integrity as priority programs for their constituents," Ramos said.