Table 1.-- Some fish causing poisoning or suspected of having caused 



poisoning as reported in the literature 



Scientific Name 



Common Name 



Sphyraena barracudai' 

 Scomberomorus regalis 

 Scomberomorus cava 11a 

 Caranx hippos 

 Caranx latus 

 Caranx ruber 

 Caranx crysos 

 Caranx bartholomaei 

 Caranx lugubr is~ ~ 

 Seriola faloat a 

 Mycteroperca venenusa 

 Mycteroperca tigris 

 Lachnolaimus maximus 

 Lutianus b'lackf ordi'i 

 Lutianus bohar 

 Ruvettu s" pretiosus 

 Variola louti 

 Serranus fuscoguttatus 

 Epinephelus morio 



Area in which Poisonous 



Great barracuda , picuda 



Cero, pintado 



King mackerel, sierra 



Common jack, crevalle 



Horse-eyed jack, jurel 



Skipjack, cavalla 



Blue runner 



Yellow jack 



Tinosa 



Amber jack, mandregal 



Yellowfin grouper 



Tiger rockfish 



Hogfish 



Red snapper 



Red snapper 



Oilfish 



Red sea bass 



Black sea bass 



Red grouper, mero 



Caribbean and Pacific 



Caribbean 



Caribbean 



Caribbean 



Caribbean 



Caribbean 



Caribbean 



Caribbean 



Caribbean and Pacific 



Caribbean 



Caribbean 



Caribbean 



Caribbean 



Caribbean 



Pacific 



Pacific 



Pacific 



Pacific 



Caribbean 



1/ Barracuda in south seas causing fish poisoning have been identified as 

 ~ So f orsteri and So picuda 



Localities in which Fish Poisoning is Prevalent 



It is commonly believed that the poisoning is largely a local 

 occurrence o Certain species of fish are supposed to be toxic only in 

 certain well-defined areas but nontoxic in others » For example, in the 

 Caribbean area, Poey (1866) mentioned that in the banks of the Hormigas, 

 Bahamas Banks, Islandes las Mujeres, and Sanda de Campeche, all fish except 

 the groupers (known locally as cherna) are supposed to be toxic „ Rogers 

 (1899) also wrote that the same was true of the banks of the Hormigas and 

 similar areas found near Anegada„ Mowbray (1916) pointed out that on Grand 

 Turk Island, which is 6 miles long and lg miles wide, fish from the north 

 side are often more toxic than those from the south side O'Neill (1938) 

 stated that fish are toxic in specific areas near Sto Thomas, V. I„ (east 

 and south of St, Thomas, Culebrita and the north coast of Vieques Island) o 

 Hofflmrm (1931) stated that fish of the north coast of Cuba are toxic while 

 those from the south coast are not,, Natives of St. Thomas believe that fish 

 taken near Sail Rock are toxic, and that all fish from the vicinity of Peter 

 Island are poisonous » In Puerto Rico, the fishermen claim that the toxic 

 area extends from Salinas Playa on the south to Fajardo on the east 

 Phisalix (1922) stated that, in the Pacific, entire atolls have been 

 declared "taboo" by natives, and that along the coast of certain islands 

 all fish are toxic Gatewood (1909) reported that the snapper (Lutjanus bohar) 



