Toxicity of tropical fishes

The poisons of reef fishes

Several types of poisonings- more or less serious and in some cases deadly- can occur after reef fish consumption. Caused by a very strong toxin accumulated over the food chain, ciguatera is a public health issue in reef regions. It is seen in large predatory fish such as groupers, trevallies or barracudas. As there is no way of detecting it in catches, the only means of prevention is to ban the fishing of potentially dangerous species.