I hate that there is so little to be done to know if a particular fish is affected! Hopefully her work will lead to some sort of an accurate, commercially available test kit in the future. Until then, I guess the gamble method/ risk assessment is the only approach if you want to eat reef fish in the tropics...
The fact that it’s more concentrated In the liver reminds me about the fishing guides in Puerto Adventures, they would lightly taste the raw liver of barracuda, and if it made their mouth and tongue numb, they said it had ciguatera.
As a sailing cruiser risk mitigation is the key ... we caught around Fiji a nice barracuda off-shore, per local rules deem ok ... but we consumed it anchored close to an hospital :-)
All other fish caught off-shore (mahi-mahi, tuna etc..) were consumed without any problem.
"Most of the Stuff You Read on Facebook About Toxic Fish Is Wrong" Wow! Who would have thought. This is why people need to go to FB for insurance, financial, health, career, and family advice. It's never wrong.
Well done Peter for going the extra mile and finding the facts!
They don’t have a definitive answer yet, but they are saying that the waters have high levels of a dinoflagellate that can produce toxins, including ciguatera. It has affected over thirty species of fish, and there have been about thirty endangered sawfish died so far.
When we were in Lovely Bay, Acklins Island, Bahamas the locals told us that on one side of the coral reef the fish were safe, on the other side very poisonous. Today I don’t recall whether the poisonous ones were inside or outside.
I hate that there is so little to be done to know if a particular fish is affected! Hopefully her work will lead to some sort of an accurate, commercially available test kit in the future. Until then, I guess the gamble method/ risk assessment is the only approach if you want to eat reef fish in the tropics...
The fact that it’s more concentrated In the liver reminds me about the fishing guides in Puerto Adventures, they would lightly taste the raw liver of barracuda, and if it made their mouth and tongue numb, they said it had ciguatera.
Great Interview, indeed.
As a sailing cruiser risk mitigation is the key ... we caught around Fiji a nice barracuda off-shore, per local rules deem ok ... but we consumed it anchored close to an hospital :-)
All other fish caught off-shore (mahi-mahi, tuna etc..) were consumed without any problem.
"Most of the Stuff You Read on Facebook About Toxic Fish Is Wrong" Wow! Who would have thought. This is why people need to go to FB for insurance, financial, health, career, and family advice. It's never wrong.
Well done Peter for going the extra mile and finding the facts!
Who knew!
I ate lionfish in Barbados. No ill effects but I would pass on barracuda and farmed salmon.
I wonder if she could help us with our fish spinning illness in the Florida Keys? They are saying it may be due to ciguatera.
What does Fish & Wildlife say?
They don’t have a definitive answer yet, but they are saying that the waters have high levels of a dinoflagellate that can produce toxins, including ciguatera. It has affected over thirty species of fish, and there have been about thirty endangered sawfish died so far.
Wonder if this is associated also with shrimp, lobster and squid etc.?
Great interview that dispels an ton of folk lore. Nice job Peter!
When we were in Lovely Bay, Acklins Island, Bahamas the locals told us that on one side of the coral reef the fish were safe, on the other side very poisonous. Today I don’t recall whether the poisonous ones were inside or outside.