| Title: |
Nutrient availability from an urban fish market in Malaita, Solomon Islands |
| Authors: |
Roscher, Matthew Brady; Batalofo, Margaret; Bonis-Profumo, Gianna; Harohau, Daykin Otowauri; Hunnam, Kimberley; Sukulu, Meshach; Sulu, Reuben John; Tilley, Alex; Tutuo, Jillian Joy; van der Ploeg, Jan; Eriksson, Hampus |
| Contributors: |
Asian Development Bank; Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers; Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research |
| Source: |
Environmental Research: Food Systems ; ISSN 2976-601X |
| Publisher Information: |
IOP Publishing |
| Publication Year: |
2026 |
| Description: |
In Pacific Island food systems, provincial markets provide access points to aquatic foods for growing urban populations. Yet, their contribution to human nutrition is largely undocumented. We help fill this gap using monitoring data from the Auki central market in Solomon Islands collected over the course of a year. Market dynamics of fish supply and customer distribution were analysed and overlaid with finfish species’ nutrient profiles. Over 121 tonnes of fish from 376 different marine species, and worth an estimated SI$2.5 million (US$300,000) were recorded on 215 sampling days (70% of open market days). The supply of fish to the market varied considerably between monsoon and trade wind seasons, but throughout the year was dominated by skipjack tuna (65% of total weight), while customer distribution was concentrated in communities adjacent to the market. From a nutritional perspective, the average daily fish supply at the market during monsoon season had potential to provide the entire Auki ward population (approx. 7,000 people) with their full recommended nutrient intake (RNI) of selenium, half their recommended protein, and a third of their omega-3s. However, contributions towards RNIs of calcium, iron, and vitamin A were much lower. Results highlight that fresh fish remain an important and widely available source of nutrients for people in urban and peri-urban communities in an island food systems context. They also emphasize that foods from diverse food groups are essential to comprehensively meet the nutritional requirements of people throughout the year. |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| Language: |
unknown |
| DOI: |
10.1088/2976-601x/ae5aa4 |
| DOI: |
10.1088/2976-601X/ae5aa4 |
| DOI: |
10.1088/2976-601X/ae5aa4/pdf |
| Availability: |
https://doi.org/10.1088/2976-601x/ae5aa4; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2976-601X/ae5aa4; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2976-601X/ae5aa4/pdf |
| Rights: |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ; https://iopscience.iop.org/info/page/text-and-data-mining |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.41E22DF1 |
| Database: |
BASE |