Cruzing yachts and Niue

[John B 106]

Thanks Grinna.

 

Trevally?

 

and painted crayfish, any worries there?

 

( a bit of googling later .. what an education!)

[Grinna 2]

While I'm not 100% sure, I'd suggest that Trevally is a fish you'd have to be careful with. They're a predatory fish that feeds over reefs and are therefore likely to pick it up. They part of the jacks or amberjack family of fishes so are probably going to get loaded with ciguatera at times.

 

Painted lobster should be OK, I don't think crustacea accumulate the toxin ... only fishes.

 

I'm not an expert on ciguatera poisoning by any means, I just know a little bit about it. It certainly is a strange toxin - for instance a relapse in symptoms can be triggered by drinking alcohol and having sex with someone suffering ciguatera poisoning can transfer the toxin to the partner. Weird!

[John B 106]

Yeah I read that , like I'm giving up alchohol har har har.

[Megwyn 2]

Thanks Grinna.

 

Trevally?

 

and painted crayfish, any worries there?

 

( a bit of googling later .. what an education!)

 

I was in Tonga with a woman who had been living in Vanuatu. It was then I learnt about this toxin - I had never seen it written though!

 

I believe the GT carry it, along with many coral eating fish. If it is really colourful - don't eat it I believe is one of the rules. I, like Grinna, don't really know much about it, but if PD or sailorsue sees this question, they might have some ideas. As will some other crewites.

 

Have fun JohnB

[Fogg 427]

Yeah some cruisers I know who have come through the S Pacific only eat the fish they catch underway in the open water. But in port they revert to a no fish diet.

[darkside 61]

Ask the locals, they are usually well aware of what is safe. We ate coral trout in Tonga and a lot of spanish mackrell (walu in Fiji) with no issues all through the Pacific. All the pelagics are fine. Also ate amberjacks in Fiji.

Don't underestimate it though, those that get it can be very sick

.

[Guest]

ciguatera poisoning

I've lived all over the Pacific for a long time and never heard of that before.

 

Explain more someone please?

[wheels 543]

Wow, I thought you of all people would know about it.

We get a version of it here in NZ as well. But we get it as Toxic Algae Blooms which the shelfish then eat and we eat the shell fish. There are three or maybe four types of toxins including the ciguatera toxin. Miatoxin is the only other one I can remember. So basicaly it is photoplankton and of course that rises from the deep water up onto the reefs which the small reef fish feed on. They don't get sick from it themselves. Predetor fish then eat the reef fish and the Toxin biulds up in them, because they eat lots of small fish and the predetor fish are what we go for. I have never known if the Predetor fish get sick themselves, but I suspect not, or they would probably learn not to eat reef fish. The bigger fish caught much further away from the Islands are not normally considered a problem.

Cooking fish does not destroy the Toxin.

[Guest]

Lobster fine (but nowhere near as tasty as crayfish, they are vegetarians after all, so not eating proper food), spanish mackerel fine as are other pelagic species, GT's or trevally extremely dodgy (top of the food chain stuff). Apart from crustaceans, be wary of any fish in the tropics that can be caught without the boat moving through the water at 5 knots or more.

I'll defer the cooking instructions to my dearly beloved.

[Fogg 427]

The yanks are particularly afraid of it - they in particular font touch the fish caught within sight of land.

[Guest]

The yanks are particularly afraid of it - they in particular font touch the fish caught within sight of land.

The yanks are afraid of just about everything, much like vegans.