Are all tropical area and coral reefs toxic?
No. The majority of coral reefs are not ciguatoxic. Outbreaks of ciguatera are limited in distribution and time and are usually very localised. Thus knowledge of toxic areas is usually based on local experience from fishermen and consumers. Toxic fish may be found in the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions and in the tropical Caribbean. In the Indian Ocean, endemic areas are known to be around the Reunion island, parts of Madagascar and Indonesia. Ciguatera poisoning is virtually unknown in the Maldives. Will the recent Tsunami increase the risk of Ciguatera in the region? As with any event, either natural or man-made, that significantly disturbs coral reefs and the associated eco-systems, there is an increased short- and long-term risk for ciguatera. This results from the decay of live corals that provides opportunities for proliferation of seaweeds, on which benthic toxic microalgae responsible for ciguatera grow. Therefore, increased screening for the occurrence of these toxic microalg
