Seafood poisoning rises with warming - AP

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Seafood poisoning rises with warming

By MICHAEL CASEY, AP Environmental Writer
1 hour, 40 minutes ago

-snip-

What Roa and the others suffered that night last August was ciguatera poisoning,
a rarely fatal but growing menace from eating exotic fish. All had bought portions
of the same barracuda from a local vendor.

Experts estimate that up to 50,000 people worldwide suffer ciguatera poisoning
each year, with more than 90 percent of cases unreported. Scientists say the
risks are getting worse, because of damage that pollution and global warming
are inflicting on the coral reefs where many fish species feed.

Dozens of popular fish types, including grouper and barracuda, live near reefs. They
accumulate the toxic chemical in their bodies from eating smaller fish that graze on
the poisonous algae. When oceans are warmed by the greenhouse effect and fouled
by toxic runoff, coral reefs are damaged and poison algae thrives, scientists say.

-snip-

Ciguatera has long been known in the South Pacific, the Caribbean and warmer areas
of the Indian Ocean. Some South Pacific islanders use dogs to test fish before they
eat.

But in the past decade, it has spread through Asia, Europe and the United States,
where more restaurants are serving reef fish, prized for their fresh taste and
exotic cachet.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070401/ap_on_he_me/asia_toxic_fish