On Sat, 22 May 2010 10:15:02 -0600, rw wrote:

On 5/21/10 10:24 PM, MajorOz wrote:

Generally speaking, blue-water cuda are OK, but lagoon cuda are not.

That's because the lagoon cuda eat poisonous reef fish.

No and not really/exactly, at least in the implication put forth. I'm not going
to argue about it - I'm simply going to state my position:

I don't care who anyone thinks to be correct - I would ask that anyone thinking
of consuming barracuda do their own research and satisfy themselves that they
know the risks (or satisfy themselves that they don't believe doing so to be a
risk). While ciguatera is not _always_ fatal, it _can_ be, esp. with kids,
older people, etc. and while there are "levels" of it, you don't want any part
of it.

Simply, ciguatera starts with "algae" (dinoflagellates) and it is not limited to
carnivorous reef fish, "lagoon" or otherwise. I'm not sure what a "lagoon cuda"
is - only young 'cuda are regular shallow-water dwellers, but any of the size
that those likely reading this would consider "eating size" would not likely
limit themselves to being "blue-water" or "shallow water," at least insofar as
the normal range of habitat - barracuda are not deep-water fish. The location
of the catch is not an indicator, nor is any other "outwardly visible" sign,
freshness of the fish, storage, etc., nor can it be cooked out by any reasonable
cooking method.

IAC, I'd advise anyone who plans on catching _any_ potential source fish, but
esp. barracuda, or otherwise consuming them "fresh" - i.e., not from a
commercial source, to get a ciguatera test kit. They aren't expensive. And if
you don't want to bother with a kit, limit your risk as much as possible by
eating only skinless filets - no other parts, no soups made with it or stock
from them, etc.

And FWIW, anyone traveling to "tropical" waters and consuming "local" seafood,
from any source, fresh-caught or at a restaurant, would be advised to at least
be familiar with what ciguatera is and the other potential sources

HTH,
R