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Toxin-tainted grouper draws attention to
rising imports By SUSAN SALISBURY Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Monday, August 04, 2008 Florida may be surrounded by water on three sides, but the seafood its residents consume is likely to be from abroad. With confirmation last week that black grouper bought in two local shops has tested positive for ciguatera — a marine toxin that can make consumers violently ill — renewed attention has been drawn to the question of where the fish Americans consume is coming from, and how it's checked for safety. The short answer: It's coming from everywhere else, and inspections, at least of imported seafood, are rudimentary. An astounding 84 percent of the nation's seafood is imported, up from 63 percent a decade ago, and at least half of that is farm-raised, according to the federal National Marine Fisheries Service. Wild and domestic farm-raised stocks have not been able to keep pace with American demand for fish and shellfish, leaving the gap to be filled by cheap imports. "The U.S. has always been a net importer of seafood," said Steven Koplin, a reporting specialist with the U.S. Fisheries Service. "We have always imported quite a bit of seafood, (but) not to the extent we are bringing in now." The chief exporter of fish to the United States is China, followed by Thailand and Canada, he said. In 2007 the Food and Drug Administration processed 868,000 entries of imported seafood, and performed more than 14,000 physical examinations of seafood imports, according to the FDA. That means less than 2 percent of such shipments were inspected. At least 10 Palm Beach County residents were sickened in June by ciguatera. Several of the victims were anglers who ate yellowfin grouper they caught off the Bahamas; others bought black grouper at a Whole Foods Market in Palm Beach Gardens and at another local fish market, Palm Beach County Health Department spokesman Tim O'Connor said. That fish market is not being publicly identified, he said. A U.S. Food and Drug Administration lab in Alabama confirmed that two black grouper samples tested positive for ciguatera, O'Connor said. "Now it has been turned over to the FDA. They will follow up with distributors and do any trace-backs they find," he said. The investigation will determine whether the fish consumed were tagged properly with information about where they were caught. Fishing is restricted in some areas, especially in the Gulf of Mexico, because of ciguatera concerns, he said. Ciguatera is the most common marine toxin disease worldwide and is seen mostly in Florida, the Caribbean and the Pacific Islands. It is most commonly found in barracuda, hogfish, red snapper and grouper. Ciguatera is caused by eating fish that contain toxins from reef algae. It leads to vomiting, diarrhea, vertigo, itching and the unusual symptom of a reversal in sensing temperature, so that things that are cold feel hot. "Try not to buy grouper that is over five pounds," O'Connor said. "That is the general rule. The toxin accumulates over time." Bob Jones, executive director of the Tallahassee-based Southeastern Fisheries Association, said many people avoid eating large speared fish such as barracuda and grouper because of concerns about ciguatera. Domestically harvested fish can be traced, Jones said, because fishermen are required to keep what's called a trip ticket that tells the amount of fish caught, the time and the grid zone. Imports cannot be similarly traced, he said. Country-of-origin labeling laws in effect since 2005 require supermarkets to label fish and shellfish with the country of origin and whether it's wild-caught or farmed. Specialty seafood markets and butcher shops are exempt. "The labeling does help," said J. Luis Rodriguez, trade adviser for Lake Worth-based Florida Farmers Inc. "Stay with the fresh stuff, and the domestic stuff." The average American eats more fish today than he or she did a decade ago. The yearly average of fish and shellfish is 16.3 pounds, up 2 pounds from 1997, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service. The U.S. commercial fishing industry isn't big enough to meet that kind of demand, spokeswoman Monica Allen said. Florida's fishing industry has shrunk dramatically in the past 30 years, done in by overfishing of some species, net limits and development of valuable coastal property. "Florida's commercial fishing industry is probably 25 percent of what it was in its heyday in the '70s and '80s," Jones said. "We don't have near the infrastructure we had 20 years ago. It's just gone." About 80 million pounds of seafood were caught in Florida waters in 2007, but that is half of the 161 million pounds landed in 1994, said Paul Balthrop, a development representative at the Florida Department of Agriculture. Bill Hartig, 57, a Hobe Sound-based commercial fisherman, said most of the local catch, such as yellowtail snapper, is sold to high-end restaurants. He catches mostly king mackerel and Spanish mackerel, which is exported to other states such as New York and California. "Commercial fishing was real big in Palm Beach County when I was a kid. There were seven fish houses in Riviera Beach in the '60s," Hartig said. "Over time, the fishing changed. ... It went away and was replaced by high-dollar businesses and condos." Joe Sclafani, owner of Captain Frank's Seafood Market in Boynton Beach, said it takes a lot of effort to find divers and fishermen selling Florida fish, but he thinks it's worth it. "I like to use Florida seafood, (but) it is getting harder and harder. It takes years to find the right people," Sclafani said. "My dolphin is caught locally. My yellowtail is out of the Keys. My grouper is from the gulf, the west coast. I use Key West wild-caught pink shrimp." Florida seafood is more expensive than the imports, and with good reason, Sclafani said: "Quality, quality, quality." In late July, Florida yellowtail snapper was $9.95 a pound at his market. Snapper imported from Brazil or another country might be available elsewhere for $4.95 a pound. "It's all about whether you are willing to pay for the good stuff," Sclafani said. |