Originally Posted by Dual45s
I made the distinct mistake of wearing the shiny bracelet my (now) wife had gotten for me. I'm sure it was just curious and I was pretty stoked to see one, but then it got inside of 7 feet from me and I started to wig out a little. It never darted, but it got even closer, so I swiped at it with my camera and it took off and sliced my shoulder in the process.
Yup, that will do it. Shiny stuff is a no, no, when diving. I used to catch barracudas in the canals around my house on silver spoons and spinners.
Originally Posted by Dual45s
Poisoned, Tankyou? How so?
Ciguatera poisoning.
From jnnp.bmjjournals.com Neurology of ciguatera:
"Ciguatera is a clinical intoxication caused by the ingestion of ciguatoxic fish. 6 Human victims are the end link in a food chain cascade. 7 The primary toxins are manufactured in the benthic (bottom dwelling) dinoflagellate Gambierdiscus toxicus; 37; and are concentrated successively in the flesh and viscera of small piscine herbivores, small carnivorous fish, and ultimately in larger fish, many species of which are prized gourmet species. “At risk” fish include some species of mackerel (Scomberomorus sp) and barracuda (Sphyraena sp) 3 and many of the tropical reef species such as coral trout (Plectropomus sp) 5; and in some parts of the world include the flesh and viscera of Moray eels (Lycodontis sp). 8 The disease is not uncommon in many littoral populations of the tropical and subtropical nations of the world. 9 In some island nations in the Caribbean and in the Pacific where the principal source of protein is fish"
Ciguatera is also a big problem here in Hawaii, especially for whippers, dunkers, and bottom fishers. Though I've never been poisoned I've several friends who have, one guy three times. Doctors say one more time and he's dead as the effects are cumulative and get progressively worse. Needless to say he no longer eats reef fish, which is especially hard for him since he's local Japanese.
UH now offers a kit for testing caught fish for ciguatera.