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Session: Seafood Access and Intake for Child Health and Development (Oral 20)

(OR20-07-24) Protecting Child Nutrition and Fishery Ecosystems in Coastal Kenya

Monday, July 1, 2024
10:24 AM – 10:36 AM CT
Location:  W183
Objectives: The Samaki Salama trial aimed to examine the effects of an integrated intervention designed to reduce malnutrition, improve fish stock health, and increase fisher revenue among small fisher households in coastal Kenya. Primary objectives were to improve young child growth (increased length/height of children) and reduce overfishing (increased length of fish); secondary outcomes were to increase child fish consumption and dietary diversity; fisher revenue; and take-home catch to feed families.

Methods: This longitudinal, cluster-designed study compared outcomes in a dose-response manner across 3 groups (n=400): control; social marketing for behavior change; and social marketing plus modified fishing gear. Social marketing component included household visits, fisher workshops, and cooking demonstrations, while modified gear component included distribution of fishing traps with escape valves to release juvenile fish.  Mixed methods included household surveys, anthropometry (height and weight of children 6-60m), 24-hour child dietary intake recalls, various fish catch metrics (biomass, fish length, species, economic value) at 17 landing sites, focus groups, among others.

Results: Child growth in stature (height-for-age Z score) was significantly increased in the intervention arms relative to control, supported by findings for increased dietary diversity, child fish consumption, and take-home catch. Modified fishing traps increased the size of fish in the catch while also increasing fisher revenue and the amount of fish taken home by fishers. Nutrient densities of the catch increased for critical limiting nutrients such as protein, iron, and zinc, in parallel with significant increases in child nutrient intakes.

Conclusions: This study advances public health and fisheries disciplines by demonstrating that human health and sustainability objectives may be simultaneously achieved through context-responsive, integrated strategies.

Funding Sources: Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish of United States Agency for International Development