Ciguatera Poisoning
We’re learning about ciguatera poisoning, the seafood illness that comes from toxins produced by microscopic algae in warm, nearshore waters. Researchers in Hawaiʻi are studying these tiny algae, known as dinoflagellates, to better understand where they are most abundant and which species are producing toxins — with the goal of helping people eat safe seafood. We hear about what it’s like to get ciguatera poisoning, why toxins accumulate, and how to avoid getting sick. And, we learn about the Pacific Ciguatera Network research collaborations in American Samoa and the Marshall Islands.
Watch the 30-second trailer for Season 12, Episode 4 on Vimeo, on YouTube, or on Vimeo with English Subtitles.
Cover image: Mu (Lutjanus bohar) in American Samoa by David Sakoda, Hawaiʻi Division of Aquatic Resources
Full Episode
Curriculum Connections:
- Grade 5: Energy from the Sun
- Activity: Understanding Food Webs
- Grades 6-12: What Are Aquatic Plants and Algae?
- Activity: Making Algae Presses
- Further Investigations: What Are Aquatic Plants and Algae?
- U.S. National Office for Harmful Algal Blooms: Lesson Plans
- Hawaiʻi Division of Aquatic Resources
- UN Food and Agriculture Organization: elearning Acadmey
Additional Resources:
- Pacific Ciguatera Network (Homepage)
- Hawaiʻi Division of Aquatic Resources (Homepage)
- Fish Pono
- Hawaiߵi Marine Recreational Fishing Survey (NOT specific to ciguatera)
Hawaiʻi Pacific University (Homepage)
- Hawaiʻi Department of Health (Homepage)
- U.S. National Office for Harmful Algal Blooms (Homepage)
- NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science
- Ciguatera Fish Poisoning
- Identifying Toxic Species
- Renewed Interest to Study Ciguatera Risks in Papahānaumokuākea
- Ciguatoxin Impacts on Foraging Behavior in Hawaiian Monk Seals
- Study of Gambierdiscus ‘Super Bugs’ and Ciguatoxin Fate in Coral Reef Food Webs
- Seasonal Differences in Gambierdiscus Abundance, Toxicity Have Implications for Ciguatera Toxin Monitoring
- Gambierdiscus species exhibit different epiphytic behaviors toward a variety of macroalgal hosts
- Cheaper Ciguatoxin Assay May Rely on Proxy Molecule
- International Collaboration Investigates Ciguatoxin Toxicity Around the Globe
- World Health Organization
- Ciguatera in the News
- Harvard University: Highlighting the impacts of ciguatera poisoning on fishers
- Mongabay: Did fish poisoning drive Polynesian colonization of the Pacific?
- Civil Beat: Scientists Warn Climate Change Will Trigger Rise In Terrifying Illness
- National Geographic: Fish along the Florida Keys are spinning in circles until they die—and no one knows why
- Harvard University: Highlighting the impacts of ciguatera poisoning on fishers
- Ciguatera Research
- Pacific Community: Ciguatera Field Report
- Nature: Indigenous knowledge with science forms an early warning system for ciguatera fish poisoning outbreak in Vanuatu
- Journal of Biogeography: Did ciguatera prompt the late Holocene Polynesian voyages of discovery?
- MDPI: Asynchrony of Gambierdiscus spp. Abundance and Toxicity in the U.S. Virgin Islands: Implications for Monitoring and Management of Ciguatera
- Hawaiʻi Journal of Medicine & Public Health: Ciguatera Fish Poisoning in Hawai‘i and the Pacific (from 2014)
- Epidemiology and Impact of Ciguatera in the Pacific: A Review (from 1986)
- American Fisheries Society: Ciguatera Toxins Adversely Affect Piscivorous Fishes
- PLOS: Ciguatera Fish Poisoning in the Pacific Islands (1998 to 2008)
- Biology: Confirmation of fishers’ local ecological knowledge of ciguatoxic fish species and ciguatera-prone hotspot areas in Puerto Rico using harmful benthic algae surveys and fish toxicity testing
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Contact information:
Kanesa Seraphin, Ph.D.
kanesa@hawaii.edu
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