Ocean Watch

Monday, August 16, 1999

Locally made kit
detects ciguatera

YEARS ago, while sailing in the Caribbean, my partner and I caught a 3-foot-long barracuda. Oh, we were excited about that fish. I can still see it sparkling in the sun as we hauled the magnificent predator into the cockpit. Then, without a moment's hesitation, we killed it, cooked it and ate the whole thing.

That was so dumb, it makes me cringe just writing it. But our degrees in marine biology and medicine were still fairly new, and we didn't realize the danger we were courting. We later learned that barracudas are notorious for transmitting the fish poisoning called ciguatera, undetectable by sight, smell or taste.

Today, if we caught a barracuda, we might still eat it, but not until we checked it for safety.

We would clean the fish, then whip out our handy Cigua-Check test kit. If the fish tested positive for the poison, we would recycle it back to the sea. If negative, we would enjoy an excellent meal without fear of illness.

Cigua-Check is a relatively new ciguatera fish poison detection kit made by a Honolulu company called Oceanit Test Systems. Researchers there used the findings of Yoshitsugi Hokama, a UH research scientist who has spent a lifetime studying ciguatera, to develop the kit.

CIGUATERA is a poisoning people usually get from eating reef fish. The primary culprit in this poisoning is a single-cell marine organism called Gambierdiscus toxicus. This naturally occurring organism sometimes blooms among seaweeds. When plant-eating reef fish graze on these seaweeds, they also swallow the ciguatera-causing Gambierdiscus toxicus.

The toxins produced by this organism do not make fish sick but remain in their flesh and organs. When larger fish eat these grazers, the toxin transfers to the predators' flesh and organs with no apparent harm to the fish.

People aren't so fortunate. When humans eat fish containing the toxins of Gambierdiscus toxicus, they get ciguatera fish poisoning. Although rarely fatal, ciguatera symptoms are unpleasant and can last for months.

Ciguatera is the most common cause of seafood poisoning in the United States. Since the toxin is associated with coral reefs, Hawaii and Florida have the highest incidences. Hawaii averages about 80 cases per year. Approximately 50,000 cases a year are recorded worldwide.

THE Cigua-Check test kit could reduce those numbers dramatically. It contains an easy-to-use system that reliably tests fish flesh for ciguatera poison.

I gave one of these kits, which costs $25 and contains enough supplies to test five fish, to a friend who often fishes with other North Shore men.

After using the five test sticks, my friend reported that the kit was easy to use, but his fellow anglers felt the test took too long (about 50 minutes) and is too expensive.

Researchers at Oceanit realize their test takes time to use, and they're working on that.

As for cost, how much is good health worth? When you factor in the other costs of fishing, $5 is a small price to pay to avoid a nasty, long-lasting illness.

To my mind there's no excuse for not using Cigua-Check on any reef fish caught in Hawaii or anywhere else. To throw these fish away without testing is wasteful, and to risk illness from eating them untested is foolish.

Cigua-Check kits are available at various local stores. For locations, call Oceanit's hot line at 539-2345, or check their Web site: http://www.cigua.com.