Polluted Oceans, What Kind of Fish are Safe to Eat ?

[wellin]

Just eat and enjoy. No need to live in fear for you will die someday from something no getting around it.

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[goboatingnow]

are the oceans that polluted, there my fish finger dinner in the waster compactor sheesh.


dave

[DeepFrz]

You might be interested in this APP.
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/id318613515

Or go to the Seachoice web site.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by monte

Regarding ciguatera... I did hear in the Caribbean it's not common south of dominica ...

Ciguatera is endemic from the Florida coasts (northern limit) to Martinique Island (southern limit), but odd cases have cropped up in other locations.

[Canibul]

I've been developing this theory about lionfish. They're everywhere, and extremely easy to spear. Being basically fearless, they just drift there like a big target. And they taste excellent!!!

And they feed exclusively on the small fry of other fish. Baby grouper, snapper, etc. So none of their food supply has had time to accumulate much of the reef based ciguatera toxins. So I'm guessing lionfish is one of the safest fish on the reef to eat.

Spearfishing is illegal here, but they'll turn a blind eye to a cooler full of lionfish with holes in them. Everybody hates them. And nobody gets mad no matter how many you eat.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Canibul

I've been developing this theory about lionfish. They're everywhere, and extremely easy to spear. Being basically fearless, they just drift there like a big target. And they taste excellent!!!

And they feed exclusively on the small fry of other fish. Baby grouper, snapper, etc. So none of their food supply has had time to accumulate much of the reef based ciguatera toxins. So I'm guessing lionfish is one of the safest fish on the reef to eat...

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, now frowns on the NOAA “Eat Lionfish” campaign, after tests of nearly 200 lionfish show that more than a quarter exceed federal levels for a toxin that can cause ciguatera. Of 194 fish tested, 42 percent showed detectable levels of ciguatoxin, and 26 percent were above the FDA’s illness threshold of 0.1 parts per billion

➥ http://www.annemergmed.com/article/S...515-X/fulltext

➥ Filleting the Lion

[2kr]

Are you kidding me? Fish from the ocean is not safe to eat? Processed food in a box is far more dangerous. Democrats say the most important issue today is global warming; republicans, terrorism. Its lousy food and obesity. I won't eat salmon from a farm. Its not even pink, except for the food dye. I won't eat anything that comes from a box. I don't eat factory chickens....but i eat the ones that run in the street in 3rd world countries. I eat fish from the ocean, fish that some guy goes out and catches. I eat fruit and vegetables in 3rd world countries...oranges that are no orange...they are not dyed, like in the US. The US has the best looking, and worst food in the world. Fish from the ocean is just fine...but I won't eat fresh water fish, farmed fish, or reef fish.

[Dehler 25]

I do remember from deep inside the memory box where sailors of old would drop a silver coin into a bucket with a fresh caught fish. If it tarnished quickly it indicated that the fish had been feeding on the site of a copper bottom wreck and was dangerous to eat, too bad there is not such a test for cig!

[Alec H]

from Caribbean Compass- word of a TEST KIT.
The Cause

The ciguatera threat begins when reef fish ingest the toxin-bearing dinoflagellates called Gambierdiscus toxicus microscopic, single-celled, free-swimming marine organisms which have attached themselves to the coral-dwelling marine algae which is the fishes' food. Larger, carnivorous fish eat the reef fish, and are in turn eaten by even larger predatory fish, which may in turn be eaten by man. Although hosts to the toxins, the fish themselves are not ill.

Ecological conditions in some localities support a continuous population of dinoflagellates, which then produce more ciguatoxin-bearing fish than other areas. Ecological disturbances to a reef, such as storm surges or careless development, can also cause the toxic organisms to spread rapidly.
In the Caribbean, ciguatera is most prevalent in the islands north of Martinique. A paper by David Olsen, David Nellis and Richard Wood published in the Marine Fisheries Review (Vol. 46, No. 1) pinpointed three primary centers of the toxin: one near Redonda between Antigua and Montserrat, one between the Saba Bank and the Anguilla Bank, and a third along the narrow shelf south of Norman and Peter Islands. Several St. Thomas, USVI markets no longer sell local fish and import all fish products sold, except for a very narrow range of species caught in specific "safe" locales. (John Smith says, "Anyone who has spent any time in the Virgin Islands is well aware that giving someone a kingfish caught on the south shore is not considered an act of kindness.")

Big Bad Fish

Because the toxin accumulates in the body of the fish, you should avoid eating large specimens of potentially ciguatoxic fish such as barracuda and kingfish that may carry high concentrations, even in areas where ciguatera is rare. St. Vincent & the Grenadines, for example, has had only one confirmed incidence of ciguatera poisoning, but it was devastating. A report by Chief Fisheries Officer Kerwin Morris relates that on the late afternoon of November 23, 1985, in the village of Owia, people "started pouring into the clinic in search of relief from vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pains." By the next morning, over a hundred villagers were hospitalized in nearby Georgetown.

It was discovered that some 120 people had eaten a noonday meal that included meat from the same 30-pound barracuda. Some affected individuals had merely drunk the broth in which a piece of fish had been boiled. An undetermined number of small animals including cats, dogs and chickens died after eating parts of the fish which had been thrown away.

According to the Caribbean Fisheries Research and Management Project (CFRAMP), affected fish looks, smells and tastes normal. Freezing, drying, marinating, salting or cooking the fish does not destroy the poison. The freshness of the fish has no bearing on its toxicity.

Avoidance Strategy

So what to do, especially when you enjoy eating fish?

Exercise extreme caution when eating fish in high-risk areas (i.e. north of Martinique).
Avoid those fishes that are most often toxic. Potentially ciguatoxic fish include (but are not limited to) barracuda, greater amberjack, kingfish, cavalli, mutton and dog snapper, sharks, large grouper, hogfish and moray eel. Plant-, plankton- and coral-eating fish tend not to be toxic, and pelagic species such as dolphin (dorado) and tuna are rarely implicated.

Always ask the locals what they eat and don't eat. (Remember that common names often differ from one location to another.)
Choose small specimens of a species, as they are usually less likely to be toxic than large ones.

Test the fish you catch with a test kit

Always clean a fish thoroughly before cooking it. The poison is usually concentrated in the head, organs and roe.
If you experience any symptoms of ciguatera, seek medical attention immediately. There is no antidote, but symptoms can be alleviated.

Information from Compass correspondents Clifford Lee-Juillerat and John Smith, and from the Caribbean Fisheries Research and Management Project, Ciguatera by Dr. Yoshitsugi Hokama, and the Marine Fisheries Review was used in preparing this report.

Ciguatera Test Kit

Folklore says you can test a piece of fish for ciguatera by seeing if a silver coin placed on it turns black, or if a sweet potato boiled with it changes color. These tests have proven to be unreliable.

A faculty member at the University of Hawaii, Dr. Yoshitsugi Hokama, has developed a scientific test kit to determine whether or not that fish you just caught is really safe to eat.

The kit, which California sailing magazine Latitude 38 says "works like one of those pregnancy kits you buy in the drug store", has only one drawback the test takes an hour. Can you wait that long before you toss those succulent kingfish steaks onto the barbecue grill?

For information on ordering kits, contact Oceanit Test Systems. 1100 Alakea Street, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813, USA. Tel (808) 531-3017,
fax (808) 531-3177, E-mail oceanit@oceanit.com

[Compactorguy]

I eat fish almost every other day and catch and eat local Southern California lobster and fish in season all the time. Except for a greenish glow at night I'm fine 😜
Like some said above don't believe everything the media tells you


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[rognvald]

Those with any kidney/liver ailments/problems should not eat fish with high Mercury levels or fish that are noted for ciguatera. It is potentially lethal. If you do not have medical issues, any offshore species other than Amberjack, large Kings and shark is fine in limited quantities. Reef fish are the best: Yellowtail Snapper, Red Snapper, Grunts, Mangrove Snapper, Boxfish/Trunkfish (difficult to clean but delicious), Flounder, Sheepshead, Sea Trout and Pompano. The smaller sizes are preferable(check limit and size restrictions locally) for taste. It is entirely possibly to eat safe fresh fish everyday if you are a skilled fisherman spending your time among the flats, reefs, bays and offshore. Good luck and good fishing. P.S. If you are a fish eater, many of your anchorages will have good fishing as a plus.

[HighFly_27]

Hello All,

I'm 66 YO and frown when I read about the extent of water pollution. I was aware of the bad pollution levels around the coastal areas where septic pours directly into water. I was not aware that the Food & Drug Agency was not that critical on monitoring/ testing seafood that comes into the USA.

I'll use the saying from a 50/60's TV show (Jackie Gleason); " When Things Went Bad, He'd Say, There Goes the Neighborhood ! "

Added Tidbit, I grew up in a farming area near Saxton, PA. They put in a small experiential nuclear (60's) reactor that used the water from the Juniata River. I saw a number of mutated fish in the water from time to time. Later, after the nuke plant was shut down, It was discovered that this experimental power plant had a few accidents.

Today, we have an above average of local people dying of cancer in this small town area. Now, it's hard to prove anything against the government. However, ask the five members of the Cooper family that died of cancer; they spent a lot of time fishing & eating these fish from the Juniata River in the 60's.

Avery

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Alec H

... Ciguatera Test Kit

Folklore says you can test a piece of fish for ciguatera by seeing if a silver coin placed on it turns black, or if a sweet potato boiled with it changes color. These tests have proven to be unreliable.

A faculty member at the University of Hawaii, Dr. Yoshitsugi Hokama, has developed a scientific test kit to determine whether or not that fish you just caught is really safe to eat.

The kit, which California sailing magazine Latitude 38 says "works like one of those pregnancy kits you buy in the drug store", has only one drawback the test takes an hour. Can you wait that long before you toss those succulent kingfish steaks onto the barbecue grill?

For information on ordering kits, contact Oceanit Test Systems. 1100 Alakea Street, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813, USA. Tel (808) 531-3017,
fax (808) 531-3177, E-mail oceanit@oceanit.com

The cigua-check test kits were found to be unreliable, and Oceanit no longer markets it.
➥ Quantitative Evaluation of Commercially Available Test Kit for Ciguatera in Fish

[secrabtree]

Jim - Please look me up when you get to the bay area. secrabtree@att.net

[Canibul]

Originally Posted by GordMay

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, now frowns on the NOAA “Eat Lionfish” campaign, after tests of nearly 200 lionfish show that more than a quarter exceed federal levels for a toxin that can cause ciguatera. Of 194 fish tested, 42 percent showed detectable levels of ciguatoxin, and 26 percent were above the FDA’s illness threshold of 0.1 parts per billion

➥ http://www.annemergmed.com/article/S...515-X/fulltext

➥ Filleting the Lion

Well, that writeup is pretty sparse. One guy tested some fish and found ciguatera toxins, but they don't say where the FDAs fish came from. I found it much more interesting that the guy who tested 20 from the Caymans and 3 from Honduras found zero toxin.

The explanation of how the toxin build up until the big top predators accumulate enough to make you sick, but this whole scenario is not how lionfish feed. So...if they only eat juvenile fish, how does the toxin build up to dangerous levels?

And as stated in the article referenced:
However,” he said, “to the best of my knowledge, there have not been any reports of ciguatera poisoning from red lionfish.”

I worked with US and foreign government oceanographic organizations for 40 years. NOAA was a big customer in the US. As was the MBL at Woods Hole, where I lived. And over the years I noticed how often government sponsored scientists recommendations were calculated to giving them another years funding to further study the problem. Many scientists are looking for something to study. They're much more interested in funding to study a problem than they are solving the problem. Look at the massively stupid fluster cluck the 'scientists' have turned the whole climate issue into. Even today, years after intelligent people started really looking at the numbers, there are STILL people out there who believe man is causing the earth to warm up. This farce has resulted in paychecks for a whole lot of new "climatologists".

God only knows what they'll fork over to study a threat to the food supply.