Experimental Induction of Ciguatera Toxicity in Fish through Diet

CIGUATERA fish poisoning is widespread in the tropical Pacific and the Caribbean, causing recurrent outbreaks of illness in persons consuming snappers, groupers, jacks, barracudas, and other species that may contain ciguatera toxin^1,2. The existence of ciguatera toxin in a fish appears to be controlled by some factors in its environment ; many suggestions have been made as to the environmental factors concerned, ranging from dumped war material³ to ``flowering of coral''⁴. The most coherent hypothesis is that of Randall⁵, who compiled circumstantial evidence and suggested that the origin of the toxin is in a benthic organism, perhaps an alga, and that it is passed through the food chain in the process of normal feeding.