Just wanted to put the word out to everyone that ciguatera is becoming more of a problem in many local Okinawan fish. I've also just heard from some local fishermen and Izakaya owner that ciguatera in the brown-marbled grouper is becoming even more common. The 39lbs grouper I shot a couple weeks ago was eaten by 3 locals and put 2 of them in the hospital, so be careful of what you eat. I've heard that there is a test kit available, but that it is somewhat expensive and not completely reliable.

If TEAM DTT shot a fish like that, the wife's whole family would be dead.

Dude that sucks. I've heard that Cig is like herpes. It never goes away, once its in your system, its there to stay.

Paul,

I cant believ you poisoned people :D
I heard those big Red snappers with the dot on the back near the tail are bound to have cig always. But they still take em and eat em.

This is truly a sad thing. I thought we were safe from Cig here in Okinawa. The Hawaiians as well as folks from Florida have had to deal with cig on a daily basis. It is true that once you have cig in your system, it never goes away. What's worse is that if you drink alcohol or are exposed to some other foods and products, you get a flare up of your cig after the initial symptoms of diahrrea, vomiting, pain, and numbness in the extremities. Almost every fish we love to shoot and eat is a suspect, including Coral Trout, Trevally, Parrotfish, Sea Bass, and some of the pelagics, most notably Skipjack Tuna. There is no cure for cig poisoning, only ways to deal with it for the rest of your life. There is a website (www.cigua.com) that sells test kits which are expensive as hell (30 bucks to test 3 fish samples). You can't freeze or cook the cig out of the fish either, which sucks. I think for me, I may have to switch to freediving/underwater videography at this point. This is a nasty disease and can be passed on sexually, by the way. Sorry to be such a buzzkill, maybe if we only shoot tiny fish our risk is lower. Most sources say the bigger predatory fish get more concentrated and massive doses of cig in their systems. Maybe Reyton has some advice for us since he is the Hawaiian connection.....

maybe if we only shoot tiny fish our risk is lower....

That sounds like a personal stab at TEAM DTT. Well TEAM DTT don't want all you guys bogarting his tiny fish anyways :nono:

Not buying fish from Paul sounds like a better idea.

j/k Paul. I am sure that you feel guilty about this whole thing. Have you talked to the people who got sick? How are they doing?

Well the Red Snapper here has always been a suspect of Cig. Actually I was told that if you catch certain fish on certain parts of the island your more prone to get it.
The guy I take fish to doesnt care and will eat it either way. He is convinced that if you freeze the fish for a few weeks it will be fine. He hasnt got sick yet and I even give him the Red Snappers that no one will touch.

This is why I dont spear a lot of fish. I dont eat em.

All you have to do is eat a small piece of the fish on the way home. If you get any minor symptoms stated above do not eat the fish. With cig the more you eat of the infected fish the worse the symptoms are going to be.

Or you can give some to a cat and if the cat shys away then its no good but if it eats it then its good. I think animals can smell danger. :D

I believe I got cig. from eating fish from Kin area. Im not really sure, but I got super sick with all the symptoms of cig.

Yoshi Hatchi, the owner of Yoshi Hatchi sushi, told me that he ate one of those snappers that we saw last weekend and like the one you shot. Ya he said he had pain from head to toe really bad. Hurt to move. He said that you could loose hair as well? But he still eats the snappers if I bring them. :D

All you have to do is eat a small piece of the fish on the way home. If you get any minor symptoms stated above do not eat the fish. With cig the more you eat of the infected fish the worse the symptoms are going to be.

That's the way to go!

I got ciguatera twice, one with barracuda (a small one) and the other with a large hogfish.

Now what I do is eating a small piece (about one inch) of any "suspect" fish when I'm cleaning it. If I'm still ok after 4 hours, I keep it, if not, I just throw it all to the garbage.

The "cat trick" doesn't work; they will eat it if they are hungry and they will get sick as well. Neither the penny or the ants. Just try a little piece. The simptoms are not that bad when you don't eat too much.

The "cat trick" doesn't work; they will eat it if they are hungry and they will get sick as well.

Well I guess if he eats it and gets sick you will know wont you ;)

Well I guess if he eats it and gets sick you will know wont you ;)

Did you read what you wrote?

Or you can give some to a cat and if the cat shys away then its no good but if it eats it then its good. I think animals can smell danger. :D

If the cat eats the fish, you'll have to wait at least 4 hours.

So take a cat with you :D

I knew those abandoned kittens would be useful for something.

I knew those abandoned kittens would be useful for something.
Now thats what Im talking about :rofl::toast:

That spot called the Dead Dog Hole isnt called that for no reason :D

actually the dead dog hole...............if you looked their last meal was some sort of blowfish...........

Poor dog, he aint got no friends now :(

That sounds like a personal stab at TEAM DTT. Well TEAM DTT don't want all you guys bogarting his tiny fish anyways :nono:

Not buying fish from Paul sounds like a better idea.

j/k Paul. I am sure that you feel guilty about this whole thing. Have you talked to the people who got sick? How are they doing?

I talked to them last night. They were in the hospital for a week. Both of them still have a tingling sensation in their tongue and legs. They were most upset because they have not been able to drink any alcohol:slap: I feel bad about them getting sick, but I sold it to my friend who has been running a sashimi-ya / Izakaya for 30 years. He said that it is the first time he has gotten cig from that type of fish. Regardless....I will never eat any of the big fish that I shoot:crazy: