Sea Food Market??

ALSO, if you have a favorite place or source and don't want to broadcast it, but don't mind sharing it, please message me. I can keep a secret. I've been trying to find all local food, downright impossible with my attempted bodybuilder diet!

Well, you can check Seaside Market and there's the Frederiksted Fish Market and the myriad of stands along the road here and there. I haven't bought any so don't know first hand what's good.

Try Sejah Farms .. Great produce and you'll get better prices there

Seaside Market or Quality Foods (flash frozen Tuna and Maui)

hubby tried to buy lobster from a roadside stand. they would not show him the scale for the weight. so he did not buy

anyone else have that happen. there is a place out near duggans that sells fish. not sure of the name but its by a washed up boat. you can see it from the road.

Wait you're looking for local fish but the fish at the market aren't local enough? *-) What seafood are you looking for besides fish? I mean... no the caribbean doesn't have shrimp or scallops lol. OH how I miss the oysters at Fish Tails! WHAAAA!

Saturdays across from Plaza east - thats the spot for what I assume you're looking for. Mahi, grouper, snapper and larger fish. Thats where I get mine or I ask guys at the Fsted boat ramp but thats dicey lol. They don't seem to likely the white girls very much. I was told they had a shark last week. Please don't eat shark. Lost of reasons.

On STX - ESPECIALLY if you want to eat healthy and no packaged foods you will need to stop at roadside stands and make a trip out to Analay farms. Heck, hunt and fish and grow a garden.

I apparently am allergic to preservatives, its a challenge for sure but Ive figured out what works and it involves a full day shopping and about $350 in groceries.

I get my own lobster and mostly my own fish except Mahi. Lately I am on a salmon kick so I get the wild alaska bag at CUL for $17. Its a good deal.. for the VI lol. I choose not to eat larger grouper - too nervous for Ciguatera and know too many who've gotten it from Grouper. Have you not tried goatfish!?! Its one of my favs. I had it in Paris and never even thought to eat it here. Great wrapped in a banana leaf on the grill. I don't eat the blue fish/pot fish/parrot fish. They are way too important to our reefs which are dying already - and they're quite overfished in STX imo. Can often find small groupers/hinds on the reef as well and they're good eating.

Never ate goat fish growing up here.
Parrot fish, to me have a mealy, sort of grainy consistency so once was enough.

Depends on where fish are caught, there are certain types as to whether might be prone to Ciguatera.

For all the rep Lion fish are getting, in terms of being tasty and helping cut down on their predation of local reef fish, they too can be prone to Ciguatera.

That being said, there are rules and regulations regarding taken of fish, lobster, conch, whelks, etc.

http://www.vinow.com/general_usvi/fishing-guide/regulations/

the seafood I am looking for is just seafood that is local and safe to eat. Avoiding reef fish for that reason (among many others). Saturdays across from Plaza East sounds like what I need. I'm a short walk from the boardwalk in C'sted so maybe I'll check with some of the fishing charters too. I'd love to catch my own, but I have limited resources and time, and eat about 200g of protein a day (times 2 since there are two of us) makes quantity an issue. I'm excited for the farm you mentioned, on an island crawling with chickens, if seems like everything is still shipped in?!?! Happy to have an on-island source to try.
Thanks for the sources and the advice. I'm loving it here. Exploring and learning is the best part!

Hello WillPeterson,

Not seafood related but for produce check out Ridge to Reef Farm too, you can find information on when/where they sell, farm visits, and events they have on their website, http://www.ridge2reef.org/.

that is a lot of protein, do you both work out

Yes, quite a bit. I chose my location based on the proximity to the Beeston Hill fitness complex. Great place if anyone needs a gym membership.

Since it was brought up. Lionfish have no better chance of having ciguatera than any other reef fish. If they are caught by local fishermen then you SHOULD be safe. Ciguatera is reef specific and fishermen don't want to sell fish that will get you sick. I have been eating quite a bit of lionfish and never had any issues. It is also a great help to our reefs to eat them as the more people get an appetite for them, the more we can cull off of our reefs.

The reason Grouper, snapper, barracuda and other large predator fish are more prone to ciguatera is they eat bigger reef fish that may have been eating from an infected reef for long periods of time building up the ciguatera in their system that then gets transferred to the bigger predator fish. Lionfish predominantly eat juvenile fish by the dozens but those juveniles have not been feeding long enough to build up ciguatera in their system.

A small study was done a few years back that showed of about 140 samples of lionfish taken around the USVI around 2%(about 3 fish) had levels of ciguatera considered above acceptable levels.

If you are interested in more info please come out to the World Food Day at UVI on St Croix this Sunday October 16th. I will be there with C.O.R.E. and Bernard Castillo, a professor at UVI will be giving a talk on Ciguatera and then serving samples of lionfish. Myself and other C.O.R.E. members will also be giving demonstrations on how to fillet a lionfish.

How are you testing for ciguatera? Can it be seen microscopically? I've always been interested in why lion fish don't seem to be getting anyone sick but I am too petrified of C to even try it. If I was unable to eat fish again I would be absolutely miserable.

What is the acceptable level also? Super interesting.

Adrian, from what I have read about ciguatera, it builds up in the body and then you can finally reach a level where it finally causes the sickness.

I have also read the following, from the medscape link below: No screening tests for the detection of ciguatera toxin in fish before they are distributed or consumed are available. Home products are available to detect ciguatoxin in fish at the time of preparation, but the reliability of these products in the hands of the consumer has not been validated.

Here are some links to some interesting reading about ciguatera (you can tell I'm really into researching a subject)

How he was poisoned

Caribbean compass article

More into

Even more detailed info

Medscape - not a lot of info

I believe it also depends on the levels inside the fish also. More so than what's built up in your body. I wasn't aware there was any way to test for it so that's why I was wondering how the above post mentioned 3% of lion fish tested showed it. I'll have to see if I can find the stuff they use to test for it. Would be interesting.

I've read the subject until my eyes bugged out too lol. I'm always worried when I catch any fish although the chances for me are slim (I hope).

Pretty amazing how it effects humans. The hot cold sensation reversal just boggles my mind!

i thought so, yes it is a pretty nice gym

Yes, quite a bit. I chose my location based on the proximity to the Beeston Hill fitness complex. Great place if anyone needs a gym membership.

FYI

St. Croix Environmental Association

Join us for this Science Cafe discussion with Dr. Tyler Smith.
6 – 8 PM
Friday, October 14, 2016
Club Comanche Hotel, St. Croix

Have you had Ciguatera? Share your story with us, and be a part of the Science Cafe discussion

The testing done involved sending samples to a lab back in the states. There is no "easy" test that can be done yourself or even on island.

Currently, no "at home" test.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in742

As a funny aside, on my Nursing boards, there was a question about ciguatera poisoning. Not sure where they got THAT question from. It was certainly not taught in my BSN Program. I got the question correct only because I had been SCUBA diving my whole life and had read about it somewhere. Well,....not my whole life but since I was 6 and my Dad got me a 50 cubic foot aluminum tank and threw me in the neighbors swimming pool and simply said, don't hold your breath! Lol! Thanks Dad! It turned into a lifelong love!