Warning to Fishers & Seafood Lovers

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Iron E

Aren't Spanish Mackerel carriers of Ciguatera toxin?

Yes - Indirectly.
Small plant-eating fish eat toxic algae [dinoflagellatea], and in turn, are eaten by larger, predatory fish, like Spanish Mackerel.


The larger the Spanish mackerel, the more risk that they have high levels of the toxin, as it accumulates in the body – so larger fish end up with more.
Depending on what articles you read, you shouldn’t eat Spanish mackerel over 12kg [26 Lbs, or ±4' long], 14kg [30#, ±5 Ft long], or 20kg [44#, or ±5'-3" Long].

According to some researchers, the amount of toxin in the gonads, roe and liver can be up to 50 times greater than an equivalent amount of muscle.

[Iron E]

Originally Posted by rognvald

Hi, I,
Not on the West Coast of Florida where we don't have the reef systems as found in the Caribbean and the East Coast of Florida. However, the best tasting Mackerel's are less than 3 pounds and easily catchable by trolling with a hula lure. When we catch any fish, I filet it immediately in the cockpit and put the filets in the reefer. This is especially important with Mackerel since they have a very delicate flesh and get muddy if they sit to long.
As a general rule, the larger the fish . . . the greater the toxins. Kingfish, grouper, sharks, Jacks, large snapper/hogfish over reefs are to be suspected and eaten with caution. As an aside, I had a very nice young man who cleaned my bottom in Miami for a couple of years and was an avid fisherman. He used to take his 20 ft. sailboat out in the Gulfstream and troll. He was scheduled to clean my bottom and never showed up and I never heard from him until 6 weeks later when he showed up at the dock. He had been in the hospital on oxygen for 6 weeks with serious poisoning and lost the feel in his legs and arms. The doctors told him he was lucky to be alive and I'm certain that if it were not for his age and his great physical shape the outcome could have been worse. So, bottom line . . . stay away from the big fish unless there is no known problem in the area.
Rognvald

Hey Rognvald, Thanks for the explanation. I haven't fished Florida in many years, and when I did, it was mostly in central areas. But while down in Miami, a guy told me some stories about ciguatoxin, and I remember him saying Spanish Mackerel.

[rognvald]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Yes - Indirectly.
Small plant-eating fish eat toxic algae [dinoflagellatea], and in turn, are eaten by larger, predatory fish, like Spanish Mackerel.


The larger the Spanish mackerel, the more risk that they have high levels of the toxin, as it accumulates in the body – so larger fish end up with more.
Depending on what articles you read, you shouldn’t eat Spanish mackerel over 12kg [26 Lbs, or ±4' long], 14kg [30#, ±5 Ft long], or 20kg [44#, or ±5'-3" Long].

According to some researchers, the amount of toxin in the gonads, roe and liver can be up to 50 times greater than an equivalent amount of muscle.

Yes, Gord,
But, it also clearly states it is especially profound in larger fish which I've said previously-- we don't eat. Dino's are naturally occurring and date back to the Triassic Period of evolution and are present in all bodies of water. They become dangerous to humans when they are contaminated by pollution and ,ultimately, cause such events as the red tide. Also, their negative effects of pollution occur when they live in coral polyps in our reefs. So, when that big Mackerel wants lunch at the reef, he'll eat coral feeders like parrot fish(and others) and that's where it accelerates exponentially. However, on the West Coast of Florida we don't have that problem as in other areas. No reefs until well offshore.
Finally, when we sailed from Chicago to the Gulf of St. Lawrence(1800 miles), we experienced it first-hand when we transited the Detroit River and sailed into the tragically polluted Lake Erie as out boat plowed through miles of murky, polluted water filled with dead fish. Our eyes began to burn and we changed our plans to spend a few days in the islands in the West end of Erie and headed East where it finally began to clear around Erie on the South coast. So, pick your fish wisely and stick with the smaller sizes and you'll be o.k. Well, that's my two cents.
Rognvald

[aqfishing]

Originally Posted by marcjsmith

Got it....

Living is dangerous and will ultimately lead to death.

Gord. Please don't post any research/analysis of bacon, beer, gin, steak, Buffalo wings, blue cheese dressing or Krispy Kreme donuts.

Plus one!

[P3sailor]

Warnings about eating excess seafood have been out there for years. Unfortunately, everything we consume is laced with something that is not good for consumption by any living organism, which includes us.

[Nicholson58]

Gotta die from something. With this lifestyle, probably melanoma.

[nm55raven]

Good folks of CP
Regarding Pacific salmon and many other wild fishes there is damning evidence of high levels of radioactive isotopes in many commonly harvested fish,crab and shell fishes.
Unfortunately ,there is little to nothing that can be done to mitigate the massive presexisting and ongoing
Contamination much of which arrived after Fukushima.
There are extensive radioactive dumping grounds from WWII off the pacific coast as well. I would be very cautious of any claims of the superiority of wild pacific salmon as compared to responsible farmed monitored Atlantic varietals.
As with any food there are reputable responsible stewards constantly improving
Their processes to bring healthy marine protein to consumers.
There is considerable evidence in the pacific coast habitats of unexplained mortality of organisms throughout the food chain. Reasearchers are struggling to unravel the causation but it is a serious problem.
Eat fish but pay attention ,stay healthy and safe.
JPW

[Montanan]

Similar guidance just issued on April 8th, 2024 regarding mercury exposure due to eating Mackinaw trout caught in the pristine alpine waters of Flathead Lake Montana. Flathead is the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi. Mercury is from natural dissolving from the mountains, little to no human caused metal in this drainage near the continental divide of Glacier National Park.

The further downstream from the crown of the continent the more contaminated the waters become. Yuch.

The bigger [older / more mature] the trout the less servings per month one should eat of it, or not at all for the "trophy sized", those greater than 26 inches.

https://www.montanaoutdoor.com/2014/...flathead-lake/



The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) have issued updated guidelines for consumption of lake trout from Flathead Lake. Lake trout from Flathead Lake, like all fish, contain mercury. These guidelines are designed to be used by anglers to make personal decisions for eating lake trout safely as part of a healthy diet.

The guidelines were developed jointly by CSKT and FWP from a large data set of lake trout that were tested for mercury by researchers at Salish Kootenai College. The large sample allowed for fine tuning of mercury levels for lake trout of various sizes. Lake trout are predators and the older, larger fish accumulate more mercury, making them less safe to eat. In fact, it is recommended that consumption of lake trout longer than 30-inches should be avoided. Women of child bearing age and children should avoid eating lake trout longer than 26 inches. They established suggested consumption levels by size (numbers are servings per month). A serving is approximately 8-ounces for an adult and 4-ounces for a child.

One can safely consume about 5 or 6 servings per month of the small 6 to 10 inch fish and progressively fewer servings of fish per month as they get bigger in length, down to none for the ones that would make for a large group of fish eaters.

The tribe has a contest to catch the lake trout so as to aid in depleting the invasive species, the top fisherpersons each individually catch more than a thousand of fish during the contest which last like 30 days, twice a year.

[SuW]

Originally Posted by rognvald

Yes, Gord,
...
Finally, when we sailed from Chicago to the Gulf of St. Lawrence(1800 miles), we experienced it first-hand when we transited the Detroit River and sailed into the tragically polluted Lake Erie as out boat plowed through miles of murky, polluted water filled with dead fish. Our eyes began to burn and we changed our plans to spend a few days in the islands in the West end of Erie and headed East where it finally began to clear around Erie on the South coast. So, pick your fish wisely and stick with the smaller sizes and you'll be o.k. Well, that's my two cents. Rognvald

There are advisories on fish consumption published by Ontario:
https://www.ontario.ca/page/guide-eating-ontario-fish

Presumably other provinces and states produce similar publications.

[SuW]

Originally Posted by nm55raven

Good folks of CP
Regarding Pacific salmon and many other wild fishes there is damning evidence of high levels of radioactive isotopes in many commonly harvested fish,crab and shell fishes.
Unfortunately ,there is little to nothing that can be done to mitigate the massive presexisting and ongoing
Contamination much of which arrived after Fukushima.
There are extensive radioactive dumping grounds from WWII off the pacific coast as well. I would be very cautious of any claims of the superiority of wild pacific salmon as compared to responsible farmed monitored Atlantic varietals.
As with any food there are reputable responsible stewards constantly improving
Their processes to bring healthy marine protein to consumers.
There is considerable evidence in the pacific coast habitats of unexplained mortality of organisms throughout the food chain. Reasearchers are struggling to unravel the causation but it is a serious problem.
Eat fish but pay attention ,stay healthy and safe.
JPW

Remove the guesswork; you can buy a Geiger counter for a modest sum.

[masa66]

You eat the crickets and leave the fish to me.

[Siberian Sea]

As a commercial Alaska salmon fisherman who has eaten way more share of his fish with no negative effects I doubt very much wild salmon constitutes any real health risks. Folks out there drinking Coca Cola, eating fast food burgers and vast amounts of sugar..... no, go out and enjoy the shrimps, salmon steaks and even an occasional overpriced lobster. There are much greater things to worry about then heavy metals in your tuna sandwich.

[Frazeryacht]

Still confused 😐

[Kurlie1]

Originally Posted by marcjsmith

why do we call cookies cookies and bacon bacon. when we bake cookies and cook bacon...

The same reason that when we transport goods by car we call it a shipment and when we transport goods by ship we call it cargo