Trends in Fish Consumption and Community's Behavior in Selected Potential Areas of the Tigray Region, Northern Ethiopia

A cross-sectional study was conducted from November, 2016 to April, 2017 in selected three districts, i.e. Mekelle, Maichew, and Adigrat of the Tigray regional state. Fish are considered as a unique source of animal proteins and long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. At the selected study sites, fish consumption habits and attitudes were determined by the availability of fish and socio-demography of consumers. A survey was carried out among respondents (n=360) in stratified random manner. A total of 87.3% of the respondents had consumed fish while rest (12.7%) had not consumed fish. A total of 45.6% people had consumed fish occasionally while 10.8% people had daily consumed fish. Majority of respondents had fish at lunch time (42.8%) while few consumed r at dinner (5.3%). The fish consuming behavior in the study sites was determined by availability of fish (21.9%), its taste/smell (17.5%) and lack of fish preservation methods (9.7%). The fish consuming behavior were improved through consumers' awareness (34.4%). A total of 38.9% of respondents consume it for brain development while 2.8% consume to improve bone and teeth development. Using Chi-square test, there was no statistically significant relationship (P>0.05) between fish consumption and community's knowledge on the health benefits and nutritive values of fish meat, and study sites. However, there was statistically significant association (P<0.05) between fish consumption and residence sites of respondents in that community residing closer to fish potential water resources were found with higher consumption habits.