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When I was in STT I was told that reef fishing was a bad idea because of fish posionning?
Does anyone have feedback on the current status of the commercial fisheries?8-
Posted : October 7, 2015 6:09 pm
I've been eating reef fish my entire life and never had a problem. You hear many times down here of people claiming that they got fish poisoning, but what they really got was sick from eating bad fish or poorly prepared fish. Not one person that I knew that claimed fish poisoning ever showed the real symptoms of ciguatera.
Hallmark symptoms of ciguatera in humans include gastrointestinal and neurological effects.Gastrointestinal symptoms include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, usually followed by neurological symptoms such as headaches, muscle aches, paresthesia, numbness, ataxia, vertigo, and hallucinations.Severe cases of ciguatera can also result in cold allodynia, which is a burning sensation on contact with cold.Neurological symptoms can persist and ciguatera poisoning is occasionally misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis.
Posted : October 7, 2015 7:51 pm
From what I've read about ciguatera, you can reach a "tipping point" whereby it builds up in your body and then just a small amount all of a sudden makes you sick.
So just because you've eaten reef fish all your life and never had a problem, is no guarantee that you won't have a problem in the future.
Although this page is from Australia, it has a firsthand account of the symptoms/effects of ciguatera.
Posted : October 8, 2015 5:41 pm
Posted : October 9, 2015 2:12 am
Yeah, nothing there about building up in the human body either.
Posted : October 9, 2015 10:14 am
Under the section 2.6.1. Pharmacokinetics
There is clinical evidence to suggest that ciguatoxins accumulate in the human body and may be reactivated from time to time to cause further clinical symptoms.
Posted : October 9, 2015 11:51 am
See the section
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF CIGUATERA POISONING?
Clinical evidence indicates that ciguatoxins accumulate in the human body and are stored in fat cells and possibly proteins, as is the case in fish muscle. These storage reservoirs of the toxins can assist in future triggering of clinical symptoms from time to time. The body develops no immunity to the toxin and in fact subsequent attacks tend to be worse.
Posted : October 9, 2015 12:09 pm
and finally…
Neither cooking the fish nor deep freezing it will affect the toxicity of a fish carrying ciquatoxin.
And remember how the toxin accumulates over time in the body of a fish? Well, it does the same thing in humans.
So one day, after eating a fish only very mildly toxic, your internal scales could be tipped – and not in your favour…
Ciguatera poisoning is dangerous – take chances with it at your peril
Posted : October 9, 2015 12:54 pm
I've been eating reef fish my entire life and never had a problem.
Over the years I've personally known at least a dozen people who've contracted it and it's horribly unpleasant to say the least, plus it leaves you vulnerable to future recurrences. I've eaten probably hundreds of locally caught reef fish too with never a problem but it helps to know and trust your local supplier. I'd never recommend fishing off the local pier and eating any catch from there!
Posted : October 10, 2015 11:33 am
