TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin which fish to eat

I read a post here but cannot find it now about certain fish causing illness because they eat other fish that eat from reefs.

Is it a certain fish or all fish caught locally? Do restaurants post where their fish is obtained? Should I avoid LOLOs?

It's called Ciguatera. Barracuda are known for getting it. I was told years ago in the VI's to stay away from any kind of reef fish, like snapper, grunt, etc. Anything caught trolling or offshore like , mahi,wahoo, tuna, etc. are ok.

Parrot Fish are also carriers.

Thanks for your responses. I usually order Snapper or Grouper but posted here I'd have to avoid snapper. I'm already allergic to fresh tuna, swordfish any thick skinned fish.

With avoiding lettuce, romaine due to ecoli, red meat for cholesterol, gout. I guess I'll just have to drink booze.

Another I heard to avoid is Grouper, but it is my favorite in SXM, and I do eat it without any problems.
I stay away from Romaine also.....

My worse case of food poisoning was at a friend's restaurant, several years ago, and I don't think my stomach
has ever been the same.

I will eat mussels in the states, but not up in SXM, where they look sooo good.
Just one bad one is all you need.
Enough of that---just being able to eat there is a treat!!

Very long time way back when we use to live in Simpson Bay , bought a fresh grouper and was very much sick . Thanks God I drank milk that helped me . Not funny.

Love snapper and eat it whenever I can.

I think it's something related to ciguatoxin, the barracuda is usually safe to consume, but you can't make sure which piece is infected or not, so keep away from this kind.

Me too.

Me too that's why the concern when I read that post about illness from local fish.

To The_Lurker, I haven't had mussels since severe illness aboard a cruise. Many sick but only those who ate mussels and the cruise line tried to convince us it was a virus.
Although I've not eaten them on SXM I've heard of no problems because they come from colder waters than SXM. There's a saying: eat mussels only in month that contain the letter R.

That saying usually pertains to oysters, although other shellfish may be included. I have eaten mussels at Mark's Place many times and never experienced a problem. I did have a nasty tasting one several years ago here at home but no ill effects.

"There's a saying: eat mussels only in month that contain the letter R."
That is for crab. Never heard that pertaining to any shell fish.

We harvest wild oysters and clams all year long here in Washington unless there is a red tide warning. Crabs are safe year round but aren't harvested year round due to being soft shelled during certain months. No restrictions on mussels.

Crab?? Well that's a new one

Or stick to lobster. I've had lobster and multiple locations on St. Martin many, many times and never once got sick from it. Maybe I ate too much of it at times and the stomach was too full, but never sick from a virus or anything related to this toxin. One thing worth mentioning about this particular toxin is that it usually is tied in with algae blooms (especially brown algae which are sometimes called dinoflagellates). The reef-dwelling fish ingest this and it translates into passing it on to those who consume the fish. I'm not sure how you watch for these algae blooms, but fish that are harvested from waters when these conditions are present will likely introduce more illness to people.

Just beware of the menus offering grouper. Most restaurants seldom have grouper, even though they say they do. One example is the Sint Maarten Yacht Club. They have grouper on the menu but haven't had any in years. Restaurants replace grouper with what is called snag - any fish they have around but not what you want. IF they serve the fish with the head attached, like snapper, you know what you are eating. Again, not much grouper can be had on the island.

Any fish that feeds on the reefs is susceptible to Ciguatera, especially among all the islands north of Guadeloupe. Deep water fish like mahi mahi and tuna are usually safe to eat.

I used to like the local caught wahoo but it's hard to find anymore. I think they're more abundant in April & May. Some restaurants serve swai which generally comes from fish farms in Asia that could be questionable so I stay away from it.

Lee's used to have grilled snapper filet on menu but no longer called it snapper. Instead it's just a grilled white fish and not sure what they call it now.

The rule about eating oysters in months with R in them is that oysters spawn in warm months and meat is not as plump. The colder the water, the meatier the oyster.

Our oysters all come from cold water. Used to eat oysters cooked in many ways and raw. Now just one bite will cause a severe reaction. No problems with mussels clams crab or fish. Just oysters.

The replacement for groper is usually swai.

Correct. And that is what Lees changed to before Irma. Not sure if they are doing it now.

You're correct BillandElaine - Swai. I call it snag because that is how it can be caught Swai is a much cheaper fish than grouper with a lot less taste. So sad they substitute Swai for a great grouper dinner.

Elaine, would you or anyone else know if the Yacht Club's Grouper Fingers are actually grouper and where it comes from? I love them damn things!

Thought that was answered earlier in this thread.

It is swai

Thanks. Sorry, i should have crafted my question a little better.

Not all of the fish sold in restaurants on both sides of the island, even what I consider to be the "safe to eat" ones (Mahi, Wahoo, Tuna), are necessarily as local as people think that they are. Yes, the local fishery supplies what they can, but that's not enough. I've talked to a local restaurant owner who gloried in the tuna which he got from a local fisherman, and another who said his tuna was shipped in from Miami, and had been caught off of Panama. Another told me that his Vivaneau (Red Snapper), had been caught between Martinique and Venezuela.

I used to be more of a fish snob than I am today, mostly because of the above - even "safe to eat" local fish sometimes comes from someplace else. What I won't eat though is farm-raised fish and shrimp. There's not a chance that I would ever knowingly eat Swai, Tilapia, most Salmon (including the farm-raised Faroe Island Salmon), and any shrimp other than wild-caught (preferably Gulf of Mexico) shrimp.

At home, I'm not sure that I would eat a Trout which I didn't catch myself. (Side note: - I love the name of Rainbow Trout in French - Truite Arc en Ciel)

But I do love Mahi, Wahoo, and Tuna, even if they're shipped in.

That is why the wild caught Alaska salmon that I caught and brought to friends on island is so much appreciated. Mostly farm raised or Atlantic salmon is all they can buy on island.