[Coral-List] Is or isn't Lionfish safe to eat, that is the question?
Rudy Bonn
rudy_bonn at yahoo.com
Tue May 7 13:03:28 EDT 2013
As, Patterson pointed out, it would depend on the location, and I know of many people in the Keys that actuaaly advocate eating Lionfish, in fact,
REEF in Key Largo, namely Lad Akins and another writer has published a lionfish recipie and cook book! The slogan being, "Eat em and beat em!" Like other predators I assume lionfish eat herbivorous species, G. toxicus is the culprit, a benthic dinoflagellate found to be associated with
macroalgae that is fed upon by herbivorous fishes who are then consumed at the next trophic level, by piscivorous fishes who are then consumed by larger predators such as grouper, snappers, etc. The toxin becomes more concentrated as it moves through the trophic levels up to the large predators. The dinoflagellate has been found in the Keys, the USVI, Hawaiim, and elsewhere. It produces ciguatoxin, gambieric acid, and maitotoxin. One reef may be infected and a kilometer away the reef may not be infected. As Patterson stated, local knowledge is the best source to help in the decision to eat local fish. If it is present, I would not eat the local fish. No reported cases in the Keys as of this date! Hope this helps, Rudy
Rudy S Bonn
Marine Educator/Biologist
Miami, Florida
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Today's Topics:
1. Call For Abstracts: Guam Coral Reef Symposium June 24, 2013 -
Abstracts due May 22, 2013 (Valerie Brown - NOAA Federal)
2. Is or isn't Lionfish safe to eat, that's the question
(RainbowWarriorsInternational)
3. Re: Is or isn't Lionfish safe to eat, that's the question
(Mcguire,Maia Patterson)
4. Position Opening: Visiting Assistant/Associate Professor of
Biology at the University of the Virgin Islands (Marilyn Brandt)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Tue, 7 May 2013 15:22:33 +1200
From: Valerie Brown - NOAA Federal <valerie.brown at noaa.gov>
Subject: [Coral-List] Call For Abstracts: Guam Coral Reef Symposium
June 24, 2013 - Abstracts due May 22, 2013
To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
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Buenas yan Hafa Adai!
We are very pleased to announce that Guam will host a Coral Reef Symposium
in coordination with the 27th Pacific Islands Environment Conference this
summer. The Symposium will take place on June 24, 2013 at the Hyatt
Regency Guam in Tumon.
This symposium will serve as a forum to share coral reef management
strategies, empirical research findings, and emerging tools and
technologies for coral reef science and management from across the Pacific
Islands. The following topics have been selected:
1. Managing Land-based Sources of Pollution
2. Coral Reef Fisheries Management
3. Managing Reefs in a Changing Climate ? Reef Resilience, Coral Disease
and Bleaching
4. Recreational Impacts to Coral Reefs
5. The Human Dimension ? Social Sciences, Social Marketing, Education and
Outreach
6. Emerging Research / New Tools and Technologies for Reef Management
The coordinating committee is soliciting abstracts for oral and poster
presentations that discuss coral reef science or management activities
related to one of the six symposium topics. Interested presenters should
provide abstracts by May 22, 2013 via email attachment to
GUcoralsymposium at gmail.com
The coordinating committee will review the abstracts and send invitations
to selected presenters by May 24, 2013. Authors of selected abstracts
will be invited to either present a 10-12 minute presentation during one of
the six sessions or submit a poster. Digital copies of all invited posters
and final presentations are requested by June 20, 2013 for inclusion in the
conference materials.
If you have questions about the symposium please contact the coordinating
committee at GUcoralsymposium at gmail.com or call Val Brown at
671-646-1904. More
information about the symposium and the PIEC will be available soon.
Saina Ma'ase!
Guam Coral Reef Symposium Coordinating Committee
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Mon, 6 May 2013 22:12:37 -0700 (PDT)
From: RainbowWarriorsInternational <southern_caribbean at yahoo.com>
Subject: [Coral-List] Is or isn't Lionfish safe to eat, that's the
question
To: Caribbean Coral Reefs <carib-coral-reefs at yahoogroups.com>,
"coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov" <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
Message-ID:
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See: Food Safety: http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2013/03/fda-adds-lionfish-to-list-of-fish-that-may-carry-ciguatoxins/#.UW1Gib8s5ZF
??? Food Safety News ??? ???
??? FDA Adds Lionfish to List of Fish That May Carry Ciguatoxins
??? Issues ciguatera guidelines for industry
??? BY NEWS DESK |? MARCH 26, 2013
When we sent this to the Aruban press we got a big backlash from the Government and the Aruba Marine Park Foundation saying this was all nonsense!!! It so happened there was a huge Lionfish hunt and cookout on April 30 with more than a 1,000 people in Aruba sampling cooked Lionfish including many a tourist.
Is this foolish or what? At heart is the fact that the "science" behind this is being seriously questioned in Aruba.
Any comments on the actual food safety are welcome.
?
Milton Ponson, President
Rainbow Warriors Core Foundation
(Rainbow Warriors International)
Tel. +297 568 5908
PO Box 1154, Oranjestad
Aruba, Dutch Caribbean
Email: southern_caribbean at yahoo.com
http://www.rainbowwarriors.net/
To unite humanity in a global society dedicated to a sustainable way of life
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Tue, 7 May 2013 12:28:57 +0000
From: "Mcguire,Maia Patterson" <mpmcg at ufl.edu>
Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Is or isn't Lionfish safe to eat, that's the
question
To: RainbowWarriorsInternational <southern_caribbean at yahoo.com>,
"Caribbean Coral Reefs" <carib-coral-reefs at yahoogroups.com>,
"coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov" <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
Message-ID:
<A081BF8A8C6D52428E9D480F5465AEFE843C20B0 at UFEXCH-MBXN04.ad.ufl.edu>
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All the FDA document (and this is only a DRAFT at this point) is doing is advising seafood processors that lionfish should be included with the other fish known to accumulate ciguatoxin (including some species of grouper, snapper, barracuda, etc....). Essentially what that should mean is that local knowledge about the risk of ciguatera poisoning should be extended to lionfish. Growing up in Bermuda, I knew to avoid eating barracuda that were over a certain size, because the larger fish were more likely to be ciguatoxic. Unfortunately, we do not have that anecdotal knowledge yet about lionfish (i.e. if lionfish are harvested from an area known to be high in ciguatoxin, is there a "safe" size of fish to eat or not?)
The FDA addition of lionfish to the list does not mean that all lionfish will cause ciguatera poisoning (we know that's not true, as there have been no reported cases of ciguatera poisoning from lionfish that I am aware of), but simply is a caution, just as currently exists for all those other species on the list. Do people avoid processing, selling or eating grouper because grouper are on the list? In general, the answer is "no," but in localized areas, where ciguatera poisoning is more common than in other areas, the answer might be "yes." By the proposed addition of lionfish to the list, the FDA is simply saying that lionfish should be addressed in the same way as grouper, snapper, etc. from areas known to be high in ciguatoxin occurrence.
I've heard that in the US Virgin Islands, where ciguatoxin occurrence is high, the local commercial fishermen kill and discard lionfish that are caught in their traps, rather than try to sell them as food fish. Unpublished (so far) research from USVI has shown high levels of ciguatoxin in lionfish there...
The FDA proposal should not be blown out of proportion, but more seen as a precautionary warning that lionfish living in areas of high ciguatoxin occurrence CAN accumulate ciguatoxin at levels that could cause human illness, but not that all lionfish everywhere WILL accumulate these levels of ciguatoxin--it will all be location-dependent...
Maia
Maia McGuire, PhD
Florida Sea Grant Extension Agent
150 Sawgrass Road
Bunnell, FL 32110
386-437-7464
http://stjohns.ifas.ufl.edu/sea/seagrant.htm
http://facebook.com/NEFLSeaGrant
Educational videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/IFASCDistrict
________________________________________
From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov [coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml..noaa.gov] on behalf of RainbowWarriorsInternational [southern_caribbean at yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 07, 2013 1:12 AM
To: Caribbean Coral Reefs; coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
Subject: [Coral-List] Is or isn't Lionfish safe to eat, that's the question
See: Food Safety: http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2013/03/fda-adds-lionfish-to-list-of-fish-that-may-carry-ciguatoxins/#.UW1Gib8s5ZF
Food Safety News
FDA Adds Lionfish to List of Fish That May Carry Ciguatoxins
Issues ciguatera guidelines for industry
BY NEWS DESK | MARCH 26, 2013
When we sent this to the Aruban press we got a big backlash from the Government and the Aruba Marine Park Foundation saying this was all nonsense!!! It so happened there was a huge Lionfish hunt and cookout on April 30 with more than a 1,000 people in Aruba sampling cooked Lionfish including many a tourist.
Is this foolish or what? At heart is the fact that the "science" behind this is being seriously questioned in Aruba.
Any comments on the actual food safety are welcome.
Milton Ponson, President
Rainbow Warriors Core Foundation
(Rainbow Warriors International)
Tel. +297 568 5908
PO Box 1154, Oranjestad
Aruba, Dutch Caribbean
Email: southern_caribbean at yahoo.com
http://www.rainbowwarriors.net/
To unite humanity in a global society dedicated to a sustainable way of life
_______________________________________________
Coral-List mailing list
Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Tue, 7 May 2013 14:23:52 +0000
From: Marilyn Brandt <mbrandt at live.uvi.edu>
Subject: [Coral-List] Position Opening: Visiting Assistant/Associate
Professor of Biology at the University of the Virgin Islands
To: "coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov" <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
Message-ID:
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The College of Science and Mathematics at the University of the Virgin Islands is seeking a Visiting Assistant/Associate Professor of Biology.
The University of the Virgin Islands is a historically black publicly supported land-grant institution. UVI is seeking faculty who will ensure that students meet high academic standards in a nurturing and learner-centered environment in keeping with our HBCU status and with interests, experience and expertise in curriculum innovation, interdisciplinary studies and distance education, as well as teaching and scholarly excellence in their specialties. In addition, academic programs support our land grant designation by integrating instruction with research and community service. Appointees must be able to work productively with students and colleagues of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds; serve on the University's committees; and contribute to the achievement of the University's Strategic Plan 2017- Pathways to Greatness.
The College of Science & Mathematics is seeking a candidate who will teach undergraduate biology courses, participate in research activities, advise undergraduate and graduate students, and participate in University and Community service.
A Ph.D. from an accredited institution in the Biological Sciences is required. Exceptional ABD candidates may also be considered, but a Ph.D. must be earned by time of appointment. All areas of biology will be considered, but preference will be given to individuals with expertise in anatomy & physiology, biostatistics, coral reef biology, ecology, environmental science, genetics, molecular biology, oceanography, or plant physiology. The successful candidate should also have demonstrated excellence in teaching at the college level, adaptability and genuine interest in teaching, and a strong commitment to teaching excellence, undergraduate research, and scholarship.
Review of applications will begin soon. For more information or to apply please visit the UVI human resources website at: https://careers.uvi.edu/
Or contact:
Dr. Alice Stanford
Professor of Biology
University of the Virgin Islands
astanfo at live.uvi.edu
(340) 693-1242
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