Ciguatera Poisoning: A Persistent Challenge in the Canaries
Food poisoning caused by ciguatera has affected more than 150 people across the Canary Islands in the last 17 years, since its presence was first detected in the Islands in 2008. Although the figures are relatively low – averaging about nine poisonings a year for this reason – and commercial fishing surveillance keeps potential outbreaks in the Archipelago at bay, researchers warn of the need to remain vigilant. In recent years, new outbreaks have been described where the species of fish consumed were not on the list used by the Directorate General of Fisheries to automate surveillance.
Unexpected Species Pose New Risks
Specifically, as explained by researchers from the Epidemiology and Prevention Service of the Directorate General of Public Health of the Government of the Canary Islands and the Institute of Animal Health and Food Safety (IUSA) of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) in a recent study, four of the 28 ciguatera outbreaks that have occurred in the Canaries since 2008 have been with species not controlled by the Ciguatoxin Control Programme. The most recent outbreak of this food poisoning recorded in the Archipelago occurred this spring after several people ate a 2-kilogram yellowmouth barracuda (Sphyraena viridensis) purchased from a supermarket in Fuerteventura. The barracuda is not considered a species subject to that analysis.
“The information we have is always changing because we are learning more,” highlights María Fernanda Marín, a technician from the Food Quality service of the Directorate General of Public Health in the Canaries. She indicates that the Directorate General of Fisheries, attached to the Ministry of Agriculture, takes note of new findings each year and adapts surveillance criteria to scientific evidence. It would not be the first time this action guide has been modified. “Before, for example, only groupers over 15 kilograms were analysed, and now we have had to lower the limit to seven kilos,” she notes.
Primary Carriers and Surveillance Data
Despite the finding of ciguatoxins in species not initially covered by surveillance, today the most common place to find these toxins in the Canaries is in two fish: the amberjack (Seriola spp.) and the grouper (Epinephelus spp.). According to data published by Public Health, in 2024, 348 specimens of amberjack tested positive for ciguatoxin and another 187 were groupers. The finding of ciguatoxins in other species under strict control is more residual. In the case of the bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix), for example, barely thirty positive samples have been detected out of the 36 species collected. For the wahoo (Acanthocybium solandri) or the comb grouper (Mycteroperca fusca), together they barely add up to a dozen positive cases. However, it should be noted that in these cases, the number of species collected and analysed is much lower.
Protocols Work, But Recreational Fishing is a Weak Spot
For Marín, the fact that only 28 outbreaks have been recorded in these last 17 years (between 2008 and 2025) shows that the early surveillance protocol “works”. “Strict controls are followed to ensure that what is marketed is safe,” says Marín. However, and although commercial fishing in the Canaries has its own health guarantee, this does not extend to recreational fishing. “Almost all the outbreaks we have recorded in recent years are due to fish that were consumed after being caught by a private individual,” argues Marín, who warns that this practice can lead to problems more serious than health issues. If that contaminated fish is acquired by a local tavern or guachinche, a poisoning can force retaliation against whoever distributed it. “It wouldn’t be the first time someone ends up in prison,” warns the technician.
For this reason, she reminds that the analyses carried out by the IUSA – which since 2012 has been the regional reference laboratory for ciguatera control in the Canaries – are free. “You only have to take care of the transport and logistics,” she emphasises.
Economic Impact Complicates Management
The complexity of managing ciguatera in the Canaries is that the measures implemented must be consistent with the economic volume generated by fishing. Both amberjacks and groupers are among the top 20 fish species that bring the most money to the Canaries. According to data from the Directorate of Fisheries of the Government of the Canary Islands, so far in 2025, €512,277 worth of amberjack catches have been sold, placing it eleventh out of more than 160 species caught across the Canaries. Regarding grouper, specimens worth €305,093 have been sold, placing it 17th in the total ranking of species with the highest production in the Islands.
“This complicates the implementation of measures, as its consumption cannot be prohibited as they have done in other parts of the world,” reveals Marín.
A Climate Change Link and Future Threats
The Canary Islands are one of the few nearby regions affected by ciguatera. This toxin, more common in tropical zones, first arrived in the Islands in 2004. Even back then, that poisoning was considered one of the first pieces of evidence of the incursion of climate change in the Islands. “Thirty years ago, ciguatera did not exist in the Archipelago,” describes Marín, who warns that, although this toxin has only been found so far in the Canaries and Madeira, “it could soon reach the Mediterranean.” Indeed, the microalgae that initiate this toxic trophic chain have already been found there.
It is worth remembering that ciguatera is a microalgae with toxins that accumulate in the organisms of the individuals that consume it. This means that larger fish – and those that therefore consume smaller fish – are more likely to have much greater accumulations of ciguatoxins.
The Search for Faster Detection Methods
These findings help plan the management of ciguatera for the coming years, but they are also an incentive to continue looking for ways to improve such surveillance. In fact, as Marín explains, in recent years they have been working to create a rapid detection test. “The toxin in the Canaries is different from that found in other parts of the world, as it adapts to the environment, which is why specific tests are needed to detect it,” insists the technician, who reveals that, if carried out, this could accelerate ciguatera detections in the Archipelago.
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