Ciguatera in the Gilbert Islands — COOPER 
425 
Finally, although there is a large quantity of 
ammunition and other materials to be found on 
the toxic reef flat, there is a considerably greater 
amount on other reefs which are not toxic. At 
various times from 1944 to 1963, coral heads 
have been blasted from the main lagoon entrance 
and passage to Betio, and from the seaplane 
alighting area near Bairiki; the former area is 
toxic, the latter is not. 
There are several well-remembered cases of 
poisoning from before the war, mostly attributed 
to te maneku, large spotted grouper (probably 
Epinephelus fuscoguttatus ) and red snapper 
(probably Lutianus bohar). However, the first 
recorded case was that of an elderly Australian 
shipmaster in 1944 (Halstead and Lively, 1954) 
who ate a red snapper. This is commonly thought 
to have been the start of the toxicity on Tarawa, 
whereas it was merely the first time it had been 
brought to the notice of the outside world. It 
was, however, the start of the resurgence of 
poisoning. 
From 1944 onwards the toxicity increased 
rapidly, until nearly all the food fish caught in 
the toxic area were poisonous. The Betio people 
ceased to fish that area. In about 1956 a slow 
amelioration began, and by I960 the reef was 
considered safe enough for fishing to be gen- 
erally resumed. In 1961, although sporadic cases 
of poisoning still occurred, the reef was con- 
sidered to be clear of toxic fish, and all species 
were being eaten. A few recorded cases of poi- 
soning since 1958 are as follows: 
1958 A Betio woman died after eating an 18- 
inch Epinephelus fuscoguttatus. I person- 
ally investigated this case, as the woman 
was the wife of a fisherman employed by 
me. This fisherman had brought this 
grouper to my house, where he was told 
it was a toxic fish and was sacked on the 
spot. He then took the fish home to his 
wife, who ate it and died. 
1959 Several people ate a large Lutianus bohar 
and two of them were mildly poisoned. 
1961 Two men died after eating a large moray 
eel. (See above, under Symptoms.) 
1961 Two men were mildly poisoned by a 
Lutianus bohar. 
1962 A man was mildly poisoned by a Luti- 
anus bohar. 
1 962 The assistant medical officer stationed on 
Betio and his family were poisoned by a 
Lutianus bohar. (See above, under Symp- 
toms. ) 
1962 Two children were mildly poisoned by 
an Epinephelus fuscoguttatus. 
Maiana 
Maiana is a lagoon island just south of Ta- 
rawa. There is a land area of about 10.2 square 
miles, a population in 1958 of 1,359, and an an- 
nual average rainfall of 62 inches. Maiana lagoon 
is fairly large but very shallow, navigable by the 
smaller colony vessels at high spring tides only. 
Toxic fish have not been reported from Maiana. 
Abemama 
Abemama (in U. S. Sailing Directions, Ape- 
mama ) is a lagoon island in the central Gilberts. 
It is a fertile island, 6.5 square miles in land area, 
and has an annual average rainfall of 57 inches. 
The population in 1958 was 1,341, but settlers 
from the overpopulated southern islands have 
increased it. There is a large lagoon with two 
deep water entrances through the reefs on the 
western side. Toxic fish have been found in both 
these passages for many years. (See Fig. 5). 
The northernmost toxic area is around the 
Western Passage; it comprises the passage itself, 
the reefs both inside and outside the lagoon 
around the point of "land” (in fact, a reef flat 
known as Te Tutongo) on the north side of the 
passage, and the reefs around the islet of Abatiku 
on the south side of the passage. A vessel owned 
by Burns Philip and Co. was wrecked on Te 
Tutongo about 1917, and the poisoning is said 
to date from this time. Parts of the engines of 
this vessel are still visible on Te Tutongo at low 
tide, and the Abemaman people think that some 
fish will remain toxic until all the ship’s rem- 
nants have disintegrated. The condition of the 
reefs around the islet of Abatiku began to im- 
prove about 1947; and in December, 1961, both 
there and in the passage, an occasional Lutianus 
bohar or Epinephelus fuscoguttatus were the 
only fish found to be poisonous. On the reefs 
around Te Tutongo some acanthurids were still 
poisonous, as well as the above species. 
The southernmost toxic area comprises the 
South Passage and the reefs around the islet of 
