OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE PAST 7 



Hiyama, on the poisonous fishes of Micronesia. Visiting the Mar- 

 shall and Saipan Islands under the most trying of circumstances he 

 found that large numbers of the reef fishes of these islands were 

 deadly for humans to eat. It was the research of Dr. Hiyama that 

 served as a basis for much of the subsequent research on poisonous 

 fishes that has been conducted in the United States and elsewhere. 



The origin of fish poisons — that is, the type that are eaten, rather 

 than those injected — has always been a mystery. Scientific interest 

 in this age-old problem underwent another revival with the re- 

 markable sequence of poisonings which took place between Febru- 

 ary 1946 and April 1947 at Fanning Island in the Line Islands — a 

 small group of coral islands lying along an almost straight line 

 between the Territory of Hawaii and the Equator. During this 

 period there were 95 cases of fish poisoning among a population of 

 224 persons caused by eating the same fish species they had always 

 eaten with impunity! Investigation of the incident has since re- 

 vealed that a startling change in the edibility of the shore fishes 

 began about 1943, involving the islands of Midway, Johnston, 

 Kingman Reef, Palmyra, Fanning, and Christmas Island. These 

 poisonings reached a peak about 1947, and have since undergone 

 some decline, but nevertheless have continued until the present time. 

 Strange to say, the fishes of most of the Hawaiian Islands and 

 Washington Island have remained unaffected and without any 

 change in their edibility. 



For centuries it has been known that a fish species may be edible 

 in one area and violently poisonous in another. Toxicity in a fish 

 seems to develop without rhyme or reason, but this is undoubtedly 

 only because we do not understand the mechanisms involved. 



The most recent surge of poisonings caused by the eating of 

 marine organisms, namely, squid, octopus and certain types of 

 oceanic fishes, took place in Japan, the Philippines and elsewhere 

 in the Indo-Pacific region. It has been estimated that more than 

 40,000 persons were involved in the 1955-1956 outbreaks. The 

 cause is the big question for the underwater medical researchers of the 

 future to answer. At present, no one knows. If mankind is to con- 

 tinue to utilize the resources of the sea, greater efforts must be ex- 

 pended in attempting to unravel the mysteries hidden in its depths. 



• 



What of the Future? 



As we glance back at the dimly lit pages of the past, we are once 

 again reminded of the debt of gratitude that the scientific com- 



