Ciguatera in the Gilbert Islands — COOPER 
Fig. 8. Map of Tabiteuea. 
species remained poisonous. In December, 1961, 
both the mate of the colony vessel "Moanaroi” 
and a passenger, Mr. H. R. Cooper ( husband of 
the author), were mildly poisoned by an un- 
identified fish caught in the entrance passage to 
south Tabiteuea. 
Beru 
Beru is a lagoon island in the southern Gil- 
berts, with a land area of 8.15 square miles. The 
population in 1958 was 1,968 and the annual 
average rainfall is 49 inches. Until recently, the 
headquarters of the Gilbert Islands Mission of 
the London Missionary Society was located there. 
Toxic fish have been known on Beru for as long 
as anyone can remember. Ships cannot enter 
the lagoon, which is very shallow with extensive 
sandbanks at low tide and is considered to be 
silting up. (See Fig. 9.) 
There are three anchorages on Beru, one in 
the south, off the village of Taboiaki, which was 
in use many years ago. In about 1936 a boat pas- 
sage was blasted at Espiegle Anchorage in cen- 
tral Beru by the London Missionary Society and 
this became the main anchorage. The boat pas- 
sage has gradually silted up, and the southern 
and northern achorages have been used more 
than Espiegle Anchorage in recent years. It is 
around the southwestern anchorage that toxic 
429 
fish are found, opposite the village of Taboiaki. 
This area is a leeward fringing reef and does 
not include any part of the lagoon. 
The Beru people say that long ago a New 
Zealand ship was wrecked on this reef, and that 
the poisoning dates from that time. They say 
that at times many species may be toxic, at other 
times only a few, but that this variation appears 
to follow no rules. Beru is a dry, poor island and 
population pressure forces the people to con- 
tinue to fish this reef in spite of the risk of 
severe poisoning. 
The poisoning caused by toxic fish on Beru 
appears to be more severe than on other islands. 
The staff of the London Missionary Society re- 
port that cases of poisoning among their stu- 
dents — many of whom were from other islands 
— were often severe enough to cause paralysis. 
In the late thirties several people became ill 
after eating a Lutianus bohar and were taken to 
the London Missionary Society’s headquarters, 
where two men died. (This is a well-remembered 
incident, as the victims were all Roman Cath- 
olics.) Other deaths are remembered and red 
snapper (probably Lutianus bohar), te in go, is 
blamed for most of them. 
In January, 1962, the Beru people said that 
there were far fewer fish toxic than in 1958, 
15 ' 
Fig. 9- Map of Bern. 
