CIGUATERA— An Invisible Threat
Ifloated above a rainbowcolored coral bommie in our Bahamian anchorage, watching as my husband, Rob, stalked the reef 10 feet below. Thunk. The muffled impact of metal sinking into flesh reverberated through the sea, sending alarmed fish scattering in a dozen directions.
My husband kicked to the surface, a zebra-striped lionfish impaled on his spear tip. “Fish tacos for lunch, anyone?” Our son cheered from the dinghy, then handed his dad a pair of scissors. While lionfish are delicious, you have to cut the toxic spines off their pectoral fins before you can toss it on the grill.
Like many cruisers, we believe that eating fresh seafood goes hand in hand with sailing. We pride ourselves on harvesting dinner while trolling between islands or when snorkeling at anchor. When our luck runs short, we buy fish from locals or order it at beachside restaurants.
I never used to worry about those tasty seafood meals. Until we met a cruiser who shared the terrifying details of his debilitating brush with ciguatera fish poisoning: violent vomiting and diarrhea, painful muscle aches, difficulty breathing, drooling, and numbness in his fingers, toes and mouth.
After researching this foodborne illness, we learned that ciguatera can also leave its victims with odd lasting effects, including the reversal of hot and cold sensations (picture your scalding coffee tasting like it’s on ice), facial paralysis, the feeling that your teeth are falling out, or nightmares. And these symptoms can be retriggered for years after the initial onset by eating certain foods or drinking alcohol.
Unfortunately, you can’t see, taste or smell this nasty neurotoxin, which afflicts up to 500,000 people per year globally. Nor is it eliminated