Fishery access benefits early childhood development through fish consumption and fishing income pathways

Within many global communities, access to natural resources benefits nutrition through provision of both food and livelihoods. In fishing communities, fish provide a rich source of essential nutrients, and fishing represents a critical income source. While evidence for the beneficial nutrients in fish abounds, fisheries’ integrated influence on nutrition outcomes through provisioning both fish for consumption and fishing income has not been examined. To address the full value of fishery resources’ contributions to food systems, within fishing communities around Lake Victoria, Kenya, we examined the effects of fish consumption and fishing income pathways on child gross motor, personal-social, and communication development as measured through the parent-reported Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Inventory across 210 households surveyed at nine time points over two years. We used mediation analyses to determine whether fishing income operates through or independently of child growth to affect early childhood development. Consumption of only one of two predominant fish species significantly benefited all three child development outcomes. Fishing income, through its effects on child growth, also significantly increased gross motor and personal-social development. Notably, the magnitude of effects of fishing income are comparable to those of fish consumption (ranging from 0.10 [90% CI 0.03–0.18] to 0.18 [90% CI 0.09–0.28]). Natural resources play a complex role in provisioning wild food, affecting nutrition outcomes through both diets and income. Disentangling these pathways and appreciating their relative magnitude are critical to advancing programs and policies to improve nutrition, early childhood development, and nature conservation.