Barracuda on the BBQ

[skipgundlach]

Our first exposure to Barracuda was catching one as we approached Cat Island in the Bahamas.


The locals told us they would eat any size Barracuda from the West which was the direction from which we came. They also said they would not eat any size Barracuda from the East. That of course is where the reefs were.

We will eat any Barracuda that is under 30 in. We find them the best fish in terms of taste and he is a preparation.

YMMV

[Flyingriki]

The one I pulled in was out in the middle of the Pacific, half way from Fiji to Honolulu. He was about 4' long and stank to high heaven and I couldn't get him off the line fast enough. Sounds like others are potentially edible but that one cured me....

[SVTwilight]

Originally Posted by Flyingriki

The one I pulled in was out in the middle of the Pacific, half way from Fiji to Honolulu. He was about 4' long and stank to high heaven and I couldn't get him off the line fast enough. Sounds like others are potentially edible but that one cured me....

I have caught a few in Indonesia and the Caribbean, BVIs/USVIs. The large ones, 3ft/ 1m+ seem to stink like rotten garbage. The smaller ones don't stink like that and are quite tasty on the grill.

[Maka]

It is possible to test fish for ciguatera right on your boat.
Why waste a fish ? Why take a chance ?



Cigua-Check® test kit | Oceanit Test Systems, Inc.

[Souzag818]

I was raised in Hawaii and we were always told not to eat barracuda. My feeling is why take a chance. So many other fish out there to eat...just my thoughts

[majones]

We routinely eat barracuda caught off Isla Cozumel, Mx. Our guide bites into the raw liver. If it makes his tongue or lips tingle/numb then it has ciguatera. However, he has never experienced this sensation so this test may be faulted. But, none of our party have been afflicted in over 8 years of barracuda eating.

[SVTwilight]

Originally Posted by Maka

It is possible to test fish for ciguatera right on your boat.
Why waste a fish ? Why take a chance ?



Cigua-Check® test kit | Oceanit Test Systems, Inc.

Is this company really in business? I tried to order a few years ago and they were shut down.

Has anyone bought and used this product?

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Maka

It is possible to test fish for ciguatera right on your boat.
Why waste a fish ? Why take a chance ?



Cigua-Check® test kit | Oceanit Test Systems, Inc.

AFAIK, they stopped making then in 2011. And (coincidentally?) a paper from that same year:



https://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperI...x?PaperID=6617


Quantitative Evaluation of Commercially Available Test Kit for Ciguatera in Fish

"The low levels of uniform conclusions among readers examining identical test strips, and the low frequency of agreement with the correct ciguateric status as shown by separate N2a neuroblastoma analyses indicate severe short-comings in the reliability of these test kits to accurately reflect the ciguateric status of samples. The level of uncertainty associated with Cigua-Check® test kits indicate a continuing need for improvement of a simple, rapid, and reliable means to identify ciguateric fish."

[Barney21]

Ciguatera is very much an issue in Barracouta in the Far North of Australia. Longtoms are smaller and maybe OK ,We always throw them back! So dont know.
I believe Barracouta is OK if caught in "cold" water?

[Jim Cate]

FWIW: Back when these kits were available we used them for a while. Then we ate a meal from a Giant Trevally we caught in the northern lagoon in New Cal. Normally we would not have eaten a fish of this size, but it tested OK. It wasn't, and we had our second dose of ciguaterra.

I was not surprised when they were removed from the marketplace.

Jim

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by landsend

Cut the bigger ones into steaks. Taste like king fish.

Now I know why I’ll never eat one, I don’t like Kings either, both fun to catch, but throw them back. I won’t eat Spanish either.

[a64pilot]

Now Wahoo, that is a fun fish, and good eating.

[poiu]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Now Wahoo, that is a fun fish, and good eating.

Wahoo, Yahoo.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by poiu

Wahoo, Yahoo.

It’s the only one I have ever caught, but when he hit, I found out why they are named that, he took I’d guess at least 200 meters of line.
Then of course when he saw the Boat, he was off again

[belizesailor]

Any instances of ciguatera poisoning in the Med?

We eat cudda in Belize & Guatemala, as do the locals, but not in FL, Bahamas, N Cuba.