606 



Fishery Bulletin 94(4). 1996 



Health concerns 



Anglers who consumed white croaker, a potentially 

 contaminated species, were mostly male (92%), His- 

 panic (57%), 21 to 30 years old (26%), and with house- 

 hold incomes of from $10,000 to $25,000 (17%) (Fig. 

 6). Although more Hispanics consumed white croaker, 

 blacks had the highest median (13 g/day) and Asians 

 the highest upper-decile (51 g/day) consumption rates 

 of this species (Table 5). Most anglers caught white 

 croaker at piers (particularly Cabrillo Pier), fished 

 all year, had fished less than six years, and had eaten 

 this species at least once during the past four weeks. 

 They generally ate the fish whole but gutted, ate 

 about 150 g at a time, and generally fried their catch. 

 About 77% of anglers were aware of health warn- 

 ings regarding consumption of Santa Monica Bay 

 fish, most respondents citing television and newspa- 

 per or magazine articles as the major source of these 

 warnings (Table 7). Of the anglers who were aware, 

 50% had altered their seafood consumption habits. 

 The greatest percentage (46%) of these had stopped 



consuming some species. Most anglers of all ethnic 

 groups were aware of the warnings. Black and His- 

 panic anglers generally became aware via television, 

 whereas newspapers and magazines were the major 

 source of health warnings for Asian and white an- 

 glers. Most Asian and white anglers altered their 

 consumption behavior, but most black and Hispanic 

 anglers did not. Of those responding, the pattern was 

 similar for all ethnic groups: most stopped eating 

 some species and somewhat fewer ate less of all spe- 

 cies. White croaker consumers generally became 

 aware of health warnings from a variety of media 

 sources. Although most thought the warnings were 

 very important, half did not alter their consumption 

 habits (Fig. 7). 



Discussion 



Santa Monica Bay anglers in the early 1990s in- 

 cluded relatively more whites and Asians and fewer 

 Hispanics than the overall Los Angeles County popu- 



