Toxins: ciguatoxin, maitotoxin, scaritoxin, plus others
It is hard to predict which fish carry the toxin:
(1) The distribution of toxin within fish of the same species at a given time can be highly variable.
(2) Not all dinoflagellate proliferations are associated with toxin production.
(3) The distribution of toxin-containing dinoflagellates can vary within a region at any one time.
(4) There are no gross changes in a fish to indicate the presence of toxins.
Ciguatera toxin is resistant to:
(1) heat (cooking)
(2) freezing
(3) pH
(4) drying
(5) salting
(6) smoking
(7) marinating
(8) local ritual
There is no way to make a toxic fish nontoxic.
Ways to reduce risk of exposure to ciguatera toxin:
(1) Do not eat fish during times of the year when dinoflagellates proliferate.
(2) Avoid fish and eels at high risk of harboring the toxin:
(2a) moray eels
(2b) snapper
(2c) barracuda
(2d) jack
(2e) grouper
(2f) any large reef predatory fish
(3) Do not eat the viscera of marine fish, especially the liver.
