Data on fish consumption in rural Bangladesh and Cambodia: Data on intake of fish species in selected rural areas of Bangladesh in different seasons were obtained from food consumption surveys conducted in 1991–1992, 1995, 1996–1997, and 1997–1998. The methods used were 24-h food weighing and 24-h recall at the individual level of all foods consumed and 5 d recall at the household level of fish species consumed. Data on the intake of small indigenous fish species (SIS), with a length, 25 cm at maximum size (8), were also collected.
Vitamin A and mineral content in fish species: Samples of selected, commonly consumed fish species were collected fresh from landing sites, local markets, fishermen, and farmers for nutrient analyses. Subsamples of raw, cleaned parts were obtained by having village women clean the fish according to their traditional practices. Vitamin A compounds (alltrans retinol, 13-cis retinol, all-trans 3,4-dehydroretinol, 13-cis 3,4- dehydroretinol, and b-carotene) in fish samples were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography. Calcium, iron, and zinc were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. The content of nonheme iron was determined by the widely used ferrozine colorometric method. This fraction does not, however, include a high-molecular-weight subpool of complex-bound nonheme iron, such as ferritin or ferritin-like compounds and is termed inorganic iron.
Bioavailability of nutrients from fish and nutritional contribution of fish: The bioavailability of calcium in the Bangladeshi SIS mola (Amblypharyngodon mola) was determined in both humans and rats. An efficacy study of the effect of mola on vitamin A status in Bangladeshi children has been completed, and in vitro studies on the bioavailability of iron from mola and trey changwa plieng are being conducted. Estimations of the contribution of mola to vitamin A recommendation of Bangladeshi children and trey changwa plieng to iron requirements of Cambodian women and children were made. communities around the Tonle Sap lake in 1998, using structured interviews, it was estimated that the average fish consumption was 67 kg/y raw, whole fish per person, corresponding to a average intake of 128 g/d raw, cleaned parts per person, adjusting for cleaning loss. These studies showed that small fish made up 50–80% of all fish eaten during the fish production season in rural Bangladesh and Cambodia. In Bangladesh, with decreased freshwater capture fisheries and reduced access to open-water fisheries for poor, rural households, the total fish intake of the poor, as well as the proportion of SIS of the total fish intake, have declined. At the same time, aquaculture has become highly successful, and the production of carp, especially silver carp, in ponds has increased. The intake of silver carp by the poor has increased because of its accessibility and low price, one-half that of other large fish species, even though it is less preferred than other cultured carp species. This changing pattern of fish consumption has resulted in a decreased contribution of vitamin A and minerals from fish. The edible parts of many SIS, whole fish with bones, have high contents of these essential, limiting nutrients; however, the edible parts of large fish, including silver carp, mainly the muscles, contain low contents of these nutrients.