Perceptions as indicators of potential risk from fish consumption and health of fish populations.

Government, scientists, managers, and the public are interested in assessing the health of ecosystems and their component parts, including humans. Indicators normally provide information on individuals, species, communities or ecosystems, and are characteristics of individuals or populations, such as contaminant levels, abnormalities, cancers, diseases, reproductive success, and survival. This paper recommends the development of indicators reflecting attitudes and perceptions that influence behavior, which then affect exposure, as well as species and ecosystem management. Interviews were conducted (N = 329) of people from Barnegat Bay New Jersey, the NY/NJ harbor, and Long Island to examine fishing behavior, consumption patterns, perceptions of consumption advisories and contaminants of concern, and the health of local fish populations. Using fish, fishing, and fish consumption as a case study, indicators of perception and attitudes are described that will be useful in exposure analysis, risk analysis and...