Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Fat, fishing patterns, and health among the bardi people of North Western Australia

  • Articles
  • Published:
Lipids

Abstract

Research into the resource use strategies of the Bardi Aboriginal People of One Arm Point, Western Australia, found that they maximize the consumption of specific beneficial marine FA. The Bardi assess the relative fatness of fish and animal species in their enviroment, procuring fish and marine species only when they are considered to be at their fattest stage: during specific seasons; at specific physiological life stages, or through on-site evaluation. In June 1999 and September 2000, samples of fish, dugong, oyster, and turtle were collected by Bardi fishermen, focusing specifically on species considered to be high in fat content and very popular among the Bardi. Nine species were analyzed for total lipids and FA profile, which were determined by capillary GLC. Comparative lipid analysis established that the Bardi hunters' selection process between species and within species and the selection of specific fish fat deposits increase the levels of beneficial FA made available to the community. Bardi fishing and hunting patterns meet a demand for fat within the community and may protect many species of fish whose spawning season is inversely related to the accumulation of the specific gut fat deposits sought by the Bardi. These fat deposits make up for the relatively low levels of fat in the flesh of tropical fish. The Bardi model provides important insights into the nature of human-environment interaction and expands our understanding of the role that warmer-water fisheries can play in human health.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

MFA:

monounsaturated FA

SFA:

saturated FA

References

  1. Bang, H., Dyerberg, J., and Hjorne, N. (1976) The Composition of Food Consumed by Greenland Eskimos, Acta Med. Scand. 200, 69–73.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Bjerregaard, P., Mulvad, G., and Pedersen, H.S. (1997) Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Inuit of Greenland, Int. J. Epidemiol. 26, 1182–1190.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Blanchet, C., Dewailly, E., Ayotte, P., Bruneau, S., Receveur, O., and Holub, B.J. (2000) Contribution of Selected Traditional and Market Foods to the Diet of Nunavik Inuit Women, Can. J. Diet Pract. Res. 61, 50–59.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Dewailly, E., Blanchet, C., Gingras, S., Lemieux, S., and Holub, B.J. (2002) Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors and n−3 Fatty Acid Status in the Adult Population of James Bay Cree, Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 76, 85–92.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Dewailly, E., Blanchet, C., Lemieux, S., Sauve, L., Gingras, S., Ayotte, P., and Holub, B.J. (2001) n−3 Fatty Acids and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Among the Inuit of Nunavik, Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 74, 464–473.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Endres, S., De Caterina, R., Schmidt, E.B., and Kristensen, S.D. (1995) n−3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids: Update, Eur. J. Clin. Invest. 25, 629–638.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Rouja, P.M. (1998) Fishing for Culture: Toward an Aboriginal Theory of Marine Resource Use Among the Bardi Aborigines of One Arm Point, Western Australia, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Durham, Durham, Britain, p. 318.

    Google Scholar 

  8. O'Conner, S. (1989) Contemporary Island Use in the West Kimberly, Western Australia, and Its Implications for Archaeological Site Survival, Australian Aboriginal Studies 1989/2, 25–31.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Kenneally, K., Eldinger, D., and Willing, T. (1996) Broome and Beyond, Plants and People of the Dampierland Peninsula, Kimberly, Western Australia, Department of Conservation and Land Management, Como, Western Australia.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Meehan, B. (1982) Shell Bed to Shell Midden, Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, Canberra.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Smith, M., and Kalotas, A. (1985) Bardi Plants: An Annotated List of Plants and Their Use by the Bardi Aborigines of Dampierland, in North-western Australia, Vol. 12(3), pp. 317–359, West Australian Museum, Perth, Western Australia.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Sullivan, P. (1998) Salt Water, Fresh Water and Yawuru Social Organisation, in Customary Marine Tenure in Australia (Rigsby, B., ed.), pp. 97–108, Oceania, Sydney.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Altman, J.C. (1987) Hunter Gatherers Today, an Aboriginal Economy in North Australia, Australian Insitute of Aboriginal Studies, Canberra.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Southon, M. (1998) The Sea of Waubin: The Kaureg and Their Marine Environment, in Customary Marine Tenure in Australia (Rigsby, B., ed.) Oceania, Sydney.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Johannes, R.E. (1991) Words of the Lagoon, University of California Press, Berkeley.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Bligh, E.G., and Dyer, W.J. (1959) A Rapid Method of Total Lipid Extraction and Purification, Can. J. Biochem. Physiol. 37, 911–917.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Dyerberg, J., Bang, H.O., Stoffersen, E., Moncada, S., and Vane, J.R. (1978) Eicosapentanoic Acid and Prevention of Thrombosis and Atherosclerosis, Lancet 2, 117–119.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Harris, C.C. (1989) Interindividual Variation Among Humans in Carcinogen Metabolism, DNA Adduct Formation and DNA Repair, Chemosphere 10, 1563–1566.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Holub, B.J. (1988) Dietary Fish Oils Containing Eicosapentaenoic Acid and the Prevention of Atherosclerosis and Thrombosis, Can. Med. Assoc. J. 139, 377–381.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Nestel, P. (2000) Fish Oil and Cardiovascular Disease: Lipids and Arterial Function, Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 71, S228-S231.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Simopoulos, A.P. (1997) Omega-3 Fatty Acids in the Prevention-Management of Cardiovascular Disease, Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 75, 234–239.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Sinclair, A.J., O'Dea, K., Dunstan, G., Ireland, P.D., and Niall, M. (1987) Effects on Plasma Lipids and Fatty Acid Composition of Very Low Fat Diets Enriched with Fish or Kangaroo Meat, Lipids 22, 523–529.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Hansen, J.C., Pedersen, H.S., and Mulvad, G. (1994) Fatty Acids and Antioxidants in the Inuit Diet. Their Role in Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD) and Possible Interactions with Other Dietary Factors. A Review, Arctic Med. Res. 53, 4–17.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Butcher, L.A., O'Dea, K., Sinclair, A.J., Parkin, J.D., Smith, I.L., and Blombery, P. (1990) The Effects of Very Low Fat Diets Enriched with Fish or Kangaroo Meat on Cold-Induced Vasoconstriction and Platelet Function, Prostaglandins Leukot. Essent. Fatty Acids 39, 221–226.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Gracey, M. (1995) New World Syndrome in Western Australian Aborigines, Clin. Exp. Pharmacol. Physiol. 3, 220–225.

    Google Scholar 

  26. O'Dea, K. (1984) Marked Improvement in Carbohydrate and Lipid Metabolism in Diabetic Australian Aborigines After Temporary Reversion to Traditional Lifestyle, Diabetes 33, 596–603.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. O'Dea, K. (2001) Westernization and Non-insulin Dependent Diabetes in Australian Aborigines, Int. J. Circumpolar Health 60, 138–142.

    Google Scholar 

  28. O'Dea, K., and Sinclair, A.J. (1985) The Effects of Low Fat Diets Rich in Arachidonic Acid on the Composition of Plasma Fatty Acids and Bleeding Time in Australian Aborigines, Int. J. Nutr. Vitaminol. 31, 441–453.

    Google Scholar 

  29. O'Dea, K., and Sinclair, A.J. (1982) Increased Proportion of Arachidonic Acid in Plasma Lipids After 2 Weeks on a Diet of Tropical Seafood, Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 36, 868–872.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Sinclair, A.J., O'Dea, K., and Naughton, J.M. (1983) Elevated Levels of Arachidonic Acid in Fish from Northern Australian Coastal Waters, Lipids 18, 877–881.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Yesner, D.R. (1987) Life in the “Garden of Eden”: Causes and Consequences of the Adoption of Marine Diets by Human Societies, in Food and Evolution: Toward a Theory of Human Food Habits (Ross, E.B., ed.), pp. 285–310, Temple University Press, Philadelphia.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Holthouse, D. (2001) Dying Breeds. Siberian Eskimos Worry That the Gray Whales Are Poisoned, in San Francisco Weekly, March 28, 2001, San Francisco.

  33. Smith, M. (1985) Bardi Relationships with The Sea, Anthropological Forum 5, 443–447.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Rousham, E., and Gracey, M. (1998) Seasonality of Low Birthweight in Indigenous Australians: An Increase in Pre-term Birth or Intrauterine Growth Retardation?, Aust. N.Z. J. Public Health 22, 669–672.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Olsen, S.F., Hansen, H.S., Secher, N.J., Jensen, B., and Sandstrom, B. (1995) Gestation Length and Birth in Relation to Intake of Marine n−3 Fatty Acids, Br. J. Nutr. 73, 397–404.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Olsen, S.F., Hansen, H.S., Sommer, S., Jensen, B., Sorensen, T.I., Secher, N.J., and Zachariassen, P. (1991) Gestational Age in relation to Marine n−3 Fatty Acids in Maternal Erythrocytes: A Study of Women in the Faroe Islands and Denmark, Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 164, 1203–1209.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Johns, T. (1988) The Origins of Human Diet and Medicine, Arizona Studies in Human Ecology, University of Arizona Press, Phoenix.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Ocean and Human Health, Bermuda Biological Station for Research Inc., GE01, St. George's, Bermuda

    Philippe Max Rouja & Éric Dewailly

  2. Public Health Research Unit, CHUL Research Center, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec, G1E 7G9, Québec, Canada

    Éric Dewailly & Carole Blanchet

Authors
  1. Philippe Max Rouja
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Éric Dewailly
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Carole Blanchet
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Consortia

the Bardi Community

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Philippe Max Rouja.

About this article

Cite this article

Rouja, P.M., Dewailly, É., Blanchet, C. et al. Fat, fishing patterns, and health among the bardi people of North Western Australia. Lipids 38, 399–405 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-003-1075-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-003-1075-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation