Aboriginal Consumption of Estuarine Food Resources and Potential Implications for Health through Trace Metal Exposure; A Study in Gumbaynggirr Country, Australia

RESEARCH ARTICLE Aboriginal Consumption of Estuarine Food Resources and Potential Implications for Health through Trace Metal Exposure; A Study in Gumbaynggirr Country, Australia Shaina Russell, Caroline A. Sullivan, Amanda J. Reichelt-Brushett* School of Environment, Science and Engineering and Marine Ecology Research Centre Southern Cross University, Lismore, Australia a11111 * Abstract OPEN ACCESS Citation: Russell S, Sullivan CA, Reichelt-Brushett AJ (2015) Aboriginal Consumption of Estuarine Food Resources and Potential Implications for Health through Trace Metal Exposure; A Study in Gumbaynggirr Country, Australia. PLoS ONE 10(6): e0130689. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0130689 Editor: André Chiaradia, Phillip Island Nature Parks, AUSTRALIA Received: January 29, 2015 Accepted: May 24, 2015 Published: June 22, 2015 Copyright: © 2015 Russell et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Data Availability Statement: Participant-level data is not publicly-available due to ethical restrictions. Request for de-identified data underlying this study can be sent to Dr. Amanda Reichelt-Brushett, at . Funding: Funding was received from the Marine Ecology Research Centre (support for independent post graduate student project) and the School of Environment, Science and Engineering (support for independent postgraduate student project). Both are not for profit organisations and the funders had no Fishing and resource use continues to be an essential aspect of life for many Aboriginal communities throughout Australia. It is important for dietary sustenance, and also retains deep social, cultural and economic significance, playing a fundamental role in maintaining group cohesion, transferring cultural knowledge and affirming Indigenous identities. We surveyed approximately 20% of the Gumbaynggirr Aboriginal community of Nambucca Heads, New South Wales, Australia. This paper explores Gumbaynggirr Connection to Country and engagement in cultural practice. It quantifies fishing efforts and consumption of seafood within the community. We found 95% of the sample group fish, with the highest rate of fishing being 2-3 times a week (27%). Furthermore, 98% of participants eat seafood weekly or more frequently, up to more than once a day (24%). Survey results revealed that Myxus elongatus (Sand mullet) and naturally recruited Saccostrea glomerata (Sydney rock oysters) continue to be important wild resources to the Gumbaynggirr community. Trace metals were measured in M. elongatus and S. glomerata samples collected by community participants in this study. Maximum levels prescribed in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code were not exceeded in the edible tissue for either species, however both species exceeded the generally expected levels for zinc and copper and S. glomerata samples exceeded the generally expected level for selenium. Furthermore the average dietary exposure to trace metals from consuming seafood was calculated for the surveyed population. Trace metal intake was then compared to the provisional tolerable weekly intake prescribed by the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives. This process revealed that copper and selenium intake were both within the provisional tolerable weekly intake, while there is no guideline for zinc. Furthermore, participants relying heavily on wild resources from the Nambucca River estuary may exceed the provisional tolerable weekly intake for cadmium. This suggests the need for further investigation of this issue to minimize any possible health risk. PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0130689 June 22, 2015 1 / 17 Aboriginal Wild Food Resources and Implications for Metal Exposure role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Introduction Throughout history and prehistory there is evidence that Aboriginal people have been associated with aquatic ecosystems including rivers, lakes and the sea [1, 2]. Aquatic resources have been depended upon for subsistence, cultural, social, customary and economic reasons [1–4]. Coastal land and sea continue to be important societal and cultural environments for Aboriginal people today [3]. These environments have shaped the identity of populations and represent important cultural heritage [5]. Following European colonization, western land-use activities reduced hunting opportunities and availability of resources; consequently Aboriginal people were forced to rely increasingly on aquatic resources from rivers and oceans [6]. Cultural fishing and gathering of food resources in Aboriginal communities provides access to a reliable source of protein, but also underpins holistic health of individuals and the community; through maintaining family relations (kinship), affirming Indigenous identities, facilitating the continuity of cultural transmission and supporting the growth and transfer of traditional ecological knowledge [2, 7, 8, 9]. There is also considerable emphasis placed on the educational role associated with fishing, hunting and gathering. These acts are at the core of teaching young people about Country and their special responsibilities under customary Lore [6, 10]. Traditionally in Aboriginal culture, fishers retained an innate responsibility to provide for their family and the wider community [9, 11]. These cultural expectations and traditions are still exercised within Aboriginal communities today [2, 12, 13] and are largely dependent on local history, tenure and legislation [14]. Australian Indigenous culturally specific terminology has been presented in italics to ensure intention of words maintain integrity when received by a wider international community. i.e. Gumbaynggirr, Connection to Country, Traditional Owner, Country and Lore. In recent years, there has been recognition of Indigenous sea rights by some western nations; Canada and New Zealand are among those who have initiated acknowledgement [15– 17]. Aboriginal fisheries in Australia are receiving state as well as overarching nationwide recognition due to the persistent Indigenous advocacy for fishing rights over many years [9, 14]. These changes followed the Mabo court case of 1992 [18] and subsequent Native title Act 1993 (Cth) [19]. Under the Act, Traditional Owners have the right to take marine resources, including the harvest of turtles and dugongs [20]. Following recognition of Indigenous rights to and involvement in the marine environment, the term traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) began to gain recognition. Integration of TEK with science and management knowledge (SMK) is beginning to occur, providing a rich body of knowledge for problem solving and essentially enhancing the resi (...truncated)