Ciguatera Risk Assessment In The Indian Ocean Following The 1998 Coral Bleaching Event

Abstract

During the last two decades, countries from the Indian Ocean region have experienced a variety of seafood poisonings involving coral reef fishes (ciguatera), turtles (chelonitoxism), sharks (carchatoxism) and sardines (clupeotoxism) (Quod & Turquet, 1996; Turquet et al., 2000a). The ecotoxicological process of ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) is caused by benthic dinoflagellates from coral reefs (Gambierdiscus, Prorocentrum, Ostreopsis) that are epiphytic on algal turfs, coral rubble and macro-algae. They produce potent neurotoxins that accumulate in herbivorous marine animals and are transferred to higher levels of the food chain by carnivorous fish. These microalgae are natural inhabitants of coral reefs and become problematic when densities reach critical levels.